"Have you ever heard the phrase "those who can, do; those who can’t, teach", or its variation, "those who can’t do, teach"? Or, better yet, have you heard this one, "that’s not how we do it in the real world. The book is not right."? If you have never heard these phrases, then I am sure that at some point in your career, you will. These are the words of the “experienced employee”. The non-student type who found no significance in their college courses, i.e. the “hands-on” type that knows all. These phrases have often sparked other conversations. Conversations that actually question the need for degrees, or any form of continuing education."
The above is culled from an article written by Everett Lockhart in 2007 Career Insight article [click article to read the complete post]. This was sparked by a google search I made regarding the quote by George Bernard Shaw: "Those who can, do. Those who cannot, teach." Which is a bit derogatory to those in the teaching profession. Another is by reader: Shelley J. : "Those who cannot do either, manage the people who can."
A more positive and better quote would be:
"Those that know, do. Those that understand, teach." Aristotle Circa 322 BC
Regardless of the sensibilities of both teachers and managers, the first two quotes seem to suggest that "hands on" experience/knowledge is better or superior to theoretical knowledge. That by "doing", one presupposes a greater deal of understanding and a true application of theoretical knowledge.
In a way it is true, but not all knowledge can be acquired thru experience or by doing. It is better to learn from the experiences, research and studies of others to build on one's knowledge or understanding of things. There are of course skills and knowldge best learnt by doing, as most trade skills; hence apprenticeships and trade schools.
Obviously the test of one's learning and knowledge is by practical application of said knowledge. The learning process starts with theoretical building blocks, taught by rote since everyone presupposes that they are "basics" to one's discipline. The more challenge is to make sure the student continue on building and practicing the theoretical aspect to confirm that what he learnt in school is true to form in the real world. The best teachers are those with both theoretical knowledge as well as real life experience of what they are teaching. The role of a teacher is to motivate and plant the seed of seeking further knowledge, provide the foundation for the student and to make sure the student knows where and how to get the information required.
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Friday, October 17, 2008
Company says shoes can power gadgets
TOKYO (AFP) - Tired of your iPod running out of power? A Japanese company says it has found a way to charge portable gadgets just by walking.
Telecoms giant NTT is developing shoes that generate electricity as you walk.
The shoes have a small generator attached to water-filled soles. Each step puts pressure on the soles, causing the water to spin a small turbine and generate power, NTT said.
The futuristic shoes currently generate 1.2 watts of electricity, "a level sufficient to run an iPod mobile music player forever, as long as the wearer keeps walking," said spokesman Hideomi Tenma.
"The company is trying to improve the power-generating capacity to 3 watts, which is the amount of electricity to power a mobile phone," he said.
"The shoes do not have a power-storage function, but you would be able to charge a mobile phone automatically or talk on it forever as long as you connect the phone to your shoes and just keep walking."
NTT hopes to put the generator into actual products as early as 2010.
(Original posting, click here.)
Years ago there was British firm marketing transistor radios powered by a hand crancked generator built in the radio. These "battery less" radios were destined for Africa so that social agencies and other government agencies can communicate with villagers via radio transmissions and programs.
At work we have LED torch (flash lights) powered with the same hand cranked generators to charged a small rechargeable battery. This is very good for emergency situations wherein one need an emergency power light source, as in a car breakdown. One does not need to worry whether there is fresh or charge up batteries in the torch.
Another hot item way back, and now is coming back to fore is the solar cells. A great source of renewable clean energy, which is great for countries with almost year long excellent sunshine. A friend have installed one of these devices to power his remote house to 1 kilowatt hour, to be able to run small appliances. Nice that one does not need to pay for electricity ever! Start up costs is about AU$20,000.00 but well worth the investment for free electricity with very small carbon footprint - renewable and clean source of power.
Telecoms giant NTT is developing shoes that generate electricity as you walk.
The shoes have a small generator attached to water-filled soles. Each step puts pressure on the soles, causing the water to spin a small turbine and generate power, NTT said.
The futuristic shoes currently generate 1.2 watts of electricity, "a level sufficient to run an iPod mobile music player forever, as long as the wearer keeps walking," said spokesman Hideomi Tenma.
"The company is trying to improve the power-generating capacity to 3 watts, which is the amount of electricity to power a mobile phone," he said.
"The shoes do not have a power-storage function, but you would be able to charge a mobile phone automatically or talk on it forever as long as you connect the phone to your shoes and just keep walking."
NTT hopes to put the generator into actual products as early as 2010.
(Original posting, click here.)
Years ago there was British firm marketing transistor radios powered by a hand crancked generator built in the radio. These "battery less" radios were destined for Africa so that social agencies and other government agencies can communicate with villagers via radio transmissions and programs.
At work we have LED torch (flash lights) powered with the same hand cranked generators to charged a small rechargeable battery. This is very good for emergency situations wherein one need an emergency power light source, as in a car breakdown. One does not need to worry whether there is fresh or charge up batteries in the torch.
Another hot item way back, and now is coming back to fore is the solar cells. A great source of renewable clean energy, which is great for countries with almost year long excellent sunshine. A friend have installed one of these devices to power his remote house to 1 kilowatt hour, to be able to run small appliances. Nice that one does not need to pay for electricity ever! Start up costs is about AU$20,000.00 but well worth the investment for free electricity with very small carbon footprint - renewable and clean source of power.
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Apple beefs up MacBook laptops, trims prices by AFP News
"CUPERTINO, California (AFP) - Apple on Tuesday unveiled a revamped line of Macintosh laptop computers made leaner, slicker, faster and a bit more affordable.
Along with showing off new MacBook models heading for store shelves, Apple cut the price of the original version to 999 dollars.
The price drop marked the first time Apple is selling a laptop computer for less than a thousand dollars.
"We sell a ton of these MacBooks and people love it," Apple chief executive Steve Jobs said as he announced that 100 dollars is being trimmed from the model's price tag.
"We are going to reduce the entry price today to 999 dollars and make them more affordable. I think we are going to keep on selling these for a long, long time," he said.
Enhanced MacBook, MacBook Pro and MacBook Air models boasted improved features in Apple's historic price range of 1,200 to 2,500 dollars.
Key upgrades to Macintosh laptop models included custom-designed graphics processors by NVIDIA to enhance computer game play and video viewing as well as glass touch-pads that allow finger gesture controls.
Before fielding questions from reporters gathered for the event at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California, Jobs flashed "110/70" on a screen behind the stage.
"This is Steve's blood pressure," Jobs said in a joking reference to a bogus blogger report that wrongly claimed he had suffered a heart attack.
"This is all we are going to talk about Steve's health today. If you want to see that number go higher, just ask some more questions."
Sales of Macintosh laptop computers have outpaced the industry average each fiscal quarter for nearly four years, according to Apple chief operating officer Tim Cook.
MacBooks have grown to account for 18 percent of US laptop computer sales, according to industry statistics.
The new Macintosh laptop computers introduced for the year-end holiday shopping season should pay off for Apple if the economic crisis doesn't make life miserable for all retailers, according to Gartner analyst Van Baker.
"If the economy stabilizes or improves, this will be a good holiday for Apple," Baker said.
Among the most compelling new offerings is a MacBook built with an aluminium casing, a corner-to-corner glass LED screen, and a glass trackpad with multi-touch control priced at 1,200 dollars.
Among the most compelling new offerings is a MacBook built with an aluminium casing, a corner-to-corner glass LED screen, and a glass trackpad with multi-touch control priced at 1,200 dollars.
The model takes features from a more expensive MacBook Pro model and puts them into a price category that has been Apple's most popular seller, according to Baker.
"That is a vastly improved notebook priced right in Apple's sweet spot," he said. "They sell more at the 1,200-dollar price than any other."
Jobs cooed that features in the lower price "next-generation MacBook" were previously only available in MacBook Pro models costing 700 dollars more."This is a beautiful machine," he said.
Jobs said hundreds of Apple engineers worked for months with computer graphics processor specialty firm NVIDIA to tailor a chip for MacBooks.
"This thing is a stunner in terms of performance," Jobs said of the NVIDIA chip, which reportedly makes graphics processing as much as five times faster than in previous MacBook models based on only Intel chips.
Apple also introduced new MacBook Pro and Air models with NVIDIA chips and other new features, along with solid state drives and increased memory.
Jobs also touted Apple's focus on using more recyclable aluminium, eliminating toxins from components, and reducing packaging to be more environmentally friendly.
"We are really happy with this," Jobs said of MacBooks going green.
New generation MacBook Pro models with a starting price of 1,999 dollars began shipping Tuesday. New MacBook Air models priced at 1,799 and 2,499 dollars will begin shipping in early November.
Jobs said Apple has no plans to add Blu-Ray high-definition DVD hardware to MacBooks any time soon because licensing the technology is prohibitively costly and complex. "Blu-Ray is just a bag of hurt," Jobs said. "We are waiting until the costs settle down and it really takes off in the marketplace."
----End quote--- From Yahoo News
Moderator's comments: It is good that Apple is now realizing that they need to get in the "program" with the rest of the computing world. That is using NVidia video chipsets and making inroads to make Apple computers and laptops cheaper. Gone are the days that Apple just uses Motorola chips and Apple applications. Nowadays they are usign Intel chips and MS applications tailored for Apple computers. These are excellent selling points to widen Apple users.
I guess this is a timely response to the slowing global market for consumer items and luxuries like computers. Good for computer users worldwide. Would love to see an Apple laptop for under US$500 like Asus EEPC, Acer and other PC manufacturers who joined the bandwagon for Intel Atom chips on a small form factor laptops (half an A4 paper). Now that would be an Intel PC killer especially for all the writers out there who needs just the basic word processing and internet browsers on their laptops - or palmtops!
Monday, February 4, 2008
Quantum Solar Water Heater
I saw this solar water heater in one of many newspaper advertisements with a twist. Instead of using special plumbing collectors installed in your roof, this one uses the princinple of "reverser refrigeration".
"The system works on the principle of a refrigeration circuit, drawing heat out of one space and discharging it into another.
"The Compact Solar Heat Pump consists basically of three major components. A compressor plus two heat exchangers (evaporator & condenser).
"In operation, the evaporator absorbs whatever heat energy is available to it from the atmosphere (air) to vaporise the refrigerant. The vapour is then compressed raising its pressure and temperature. This high temperature vapour is passed through special pipes permanently bonded around the outside of the water storage tank, forming the condenser. As the refrigerant vapour condenses back to its liquid form, it gives off its heat to the stored water.
"As this happens, the condensed refrigerant liquid passes back to the evaporator panels through an expansion device (TX Valve), is vaporised, and the cycle is then repeated.
"The refrigerant material (R134a) is unusual in that it has a very low boiling (or vaporising) point well below 0°C at atmospheric pressure and a freezing point more than 100°C below zero. It is liquid when cold but easily becomes a vapour when heated and vice versa.
The subject of hot and cold is really a question of relativity.
"People think of hot and cold relative to themselves - their comfort levels.
As our normal body temperature is 36°C an ambient temperature of 40°C is called hot, while an ambient temperature of only 5°C is said to be very cold. It is all relative.
"In operation within the heat pump the refrigerant can be vaporising at a temperature of around minus 20°C. An ambient temperature of 5°C is HOT compared with such a low figure.
Thus the Quantum Compact Solar Heat Pump can operate in all seasons of the year, making hot water both day and night very efficiently. So if you are "Thinking About Solar" invest in a Quantum."
It looks good based on their website. When my electric water needs replacement, I will seriously think of this water heater. It is environmentally friendly to boot.
"The system works on the principle of a refrigeration circuit, drawing heat out of one space and discharging it into another.
"The Compact Solar Heat Pump consists basically of three major components. A compressor plus two heat exchangers (evaporator & condenser).
"In operation, the evaporator absorbs whatever heat energy is available to it from the atmosphere (air) to vaporise the refrigerant. The vapour is then compressed raising its pressure and temperature. This high temperature vapour is passed through special pipes permanently bonded around the outside of the water storage tank, forming the condenser. As the refrigerant vapour condenses back to its liquid form, it gives off its heat to the stored water.
"As this happens, the condensed refrigerant liquid passes back to the evaporator panels through an expansion device (TX Valve), is vaporised, and the cycle is then repeated.
"The refrigerant material (R134a) is unusual in that it has a very low boiling (or vaporising) point well below 0°C at atmospheric pressure and a freezing point more than 100°C below zero. It is liquid when cold but easily becomes a vapour when heated and vice versa.
The subject of hot and cold is really a question of relativity.
"People think of hot and cold relative to themselves - their comfort levels.
As our normal body temperature is 36°C an ambient temperature of 40°C is called hot, while an ambient temperature of only 5°C is said to be very cold. It is all relative.
"In operation within the heat pump the refrigerant can be vaporising at a temperature of around minus 20°C. An ambient temperature of 5°C is HOT compared with such a low figure.
Thus the Quantum Compact Solar Heat Pump can operate in all seasons of the year, making hot water both day and night very efficiently. So if you are "Thinking About Solar" invest in a Quantum."
It looks good based on their website. When my electric water needs replacement, I will seriously think of this water heater. It is environmentally friendly to boot.
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