Welcome to Ram's website
Being a sincere Civil Engineer, I continue to keep the site under "construction" :)
Some nice links/books:
Check out the 2 lectures by Randy Pausch. One is on realizing dreams, and the other is on time management. Both are master pieces. Your time will be very well spent.
http://www.cs.virginia.edu/~robins/quotes.html
A periodic table of visualization methods
As Voltaire said "The Best is the enemy of the Good." Dont make it so. "Do your best" is a philosophy, not a good management principle.
A short and nice article on teaching goals.
Purpose of Statistics: Decision making
A nice article on fallacies in project management
05.26.08
TED Talk - Sir Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?
TED Talk - Larry Lessig: How creativity is being strangled by the law
TED Talk - Dave Eggers: 2008 TED Prize wish: Once Upon a School
Books:
The Chicago Guide to Communicating Science, Scott L. Montgomery
Leadership Made Simple, Ed Oakley and Doug Krug
09.16.08
William Ury, Harvard University (Microsoft Talk)
The Power of a Positive No: How to Say No and Still Get to Yes
Authors@Google: Garr Reynolds
On Presentation - powerpoint (Based on his book - Presentation Zen) (and website - presentationzen.com)
The free e-book on good group decisions is good.
Also check out this environment-related, reducing carbon-footprint write up
Paper mill - interactive tour
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Several more links, from Karthik
Math
Olympiad reading - olympiads.win.tue.nl/imo/books.html
Videos: www.msri.org/publications/video/
Calculus: www.mathforum.org/library/topics/svcalc/
Math forum: www.mathforum.org/
www.arvindguptatoys.com
www.vidyaonline.net
www.ramanujanmuseum.org
Science:
Microscopic pics for science - http://www.eyeofscience.com
Plant Culture: www.plantcultures.org
biology4kids.com
chem4kids.com
geography4kids.com
How things work - howthingswork.virginia.edu
Miscellaneous:
Free video courses for K-12 - www.learner.org
American Museum of Natural History's ology site: ology.amnh.org
TryScience project: www.tryscience.org
kids stories - www.hindukids.org/grandpa/index.html
Interesting Quotes/Thoughts
Sherlock Holmes: "Let me see -- what are my other shortcomings? I get in the dumps at times, and don't open my mouth for days on end. You must not think I am sulky when I do that. Just let me alone, and I'll soon be right. What have you to confess now? It's just as well for two fellows to know the worst of one another before they begin to live together."
Wiki: most people are not optimally motivated, as many want a challenge (which assumes some kind of insecurity of success). At the same time people want to feel that there is a substantial probability that they will succeed. Specificity concerns the description of the goal. The goal should be objectively defined and intelligible for the individual. A classic example of a poorly specified goal is to get the highest possible grade. Most children have no idea how much effort they need to reach that goal.
Oscar Wilde - A gentleman is never unintentionally rude. [Probably, not unnecessarily rude, also]
Sherlock Holmes: 'What the deuce is it to me?' he interrupted impatiently: ' you say that we go round the sun. If we went around the moon it would not make a pennyworth of difference to me or to my work.'
From Wiki: While it is undoubtedly difficult to put into words what makes Nusrat's music appeal so deeply to so many listeners, many of whom do not understand a single word of the languages he sings in, here is one fan's attempt to explain: "Nusrat's music invites us to eavesdrop on a man communing with his God, ever so eloquently. He makes the act of singing a passionate offering to God. But we do not merely eavesdrop. The deepest part of Nusrat's magic lies in the fact that he is able to bring our hearts to resonate with the music, so deeply, that we ourselves become full partners in that offering. He sings to God, and by listening, we also sing to God."
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.
- Lucius Annaeus Seneca(Roman philosopher, mid-1st century AD)
"Just never let the fear of failure preclude you from trying something new."
"sometimes the greatest risk, is not taking a risk at all."
Esther Dyson’s quote about “always make new mistakes” presumes that I am even aware of the original set of mistakes such that I can work to eliminate those failings! But sometimes I don’t recognize a flaw for quite a while. Those moments I am awakened to long standing mistakes are very very exciting. Our ability to increase the probability of long term enhanced performance has just occurred in those moments where we make major or more often minor adjustments.
Jim Rohn: “A formal education will make you a living. Self-education will make you rich.”
Edison: “I have not failed 10,000 times. I have successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.”
So, what’s the key to staying competitive?
You must learn to learn. The world is changing at an incredible pace. Almost everything you learn in college will be outdated in a minimum of 5 years.
“Some problems are so complex that you have to be highly intelligent and well informed just to be undecided about them.”
--Laurence J. Peter
That the future may learn from the past
--The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.
- Lucius Annaeus Seneca (Roman philosopher, mid-1st century AD)
There is no substitute for clarity.
At the beginning of every research project, there are some questions for which answers are not known. This is the very reason why research is needed. To not accept this gap at any level will cause serious frustration to the researchers, sponsors, and clients.
(from my sister's Business Communication instructor) Dont sweat about answering every question on an exam - that could be defeating. 25% of the Qs are aimed at above-average student, 50% for the average student, and 25% for the below-average.(applies to real-world projects and life too??)
Random Rambling: If you have heard anything in connection with these, email me.
Lawrence Ferlinghetti, Alan Watts, Buddhist monks, copyright, funeral, Imaginary money and Imaginary prestige.
Last updated: PM 10/7/2008