Tue, 29 Nov 2005

Multi-agent modelling conferences
I would like to start sending papers specifically to conferences that specialize in multi-agent modelling of natural systems. I’m sure there must be some out there. I did find Cormas- Natural resources and agent-based simulations and also CABM-HEMA-SMAGET, a confusingly named conference on multi-agent modelling for Environmental Management.

The challenge is that often these models are presented at conferences that are topic specific rather than methodology specific.

posted at: 19:41 | path: /school | link

Fri, 25 Nov 2005

Now THAT’S a fire.
You remember the flaming BBQ post on Colin’s blog a while back? You remember the turkey fryer post, more recently? Well- don’t worry- it’s not happening to our turkey fryer, but… think

Flaming BBQ + Turkey Fryer.

Don’t try this at home kids! Leave it to the people at Underwriters Laboratory. Man- I want their job.

posted at: 00:13 | path: /living | link

Sun, 20 Nov 2005

First Nations Garden, Montreal Botanical Garden
Revisiting my continuing interest in indiginous plants, I came across this site, which is associated with the First Nations Garden in the Montreal Botanical Garden. It has useful information on ways to use indiginous plants. As the name suggests, this information comes from the First Nations.

posted at: 09:25 | path: /living | link

Mon, 14 Nov 2005

More on overcoming Task Aversion
I think that this wikipedia article also has some good ideas and insight.

posted at: 14:19 | path: /living | link

Task Aversion
‘Procrastination’ is a term often bandied around. I like the term ‘task aversion’ better, because it is more evocative and sounds less frivolous or trivial. Those who experience serious ‘task aversion’ will surely agree that it is no laughing matter. I’m one of those people, and I’m definitely not laughing. Here’s a link to current theories on the psychology behind “task aversion”.

posted at: 14:05 | path: /living | link

Sat, 12 Nov 2005

Popularity of Almonds in the Medieval Ages
I knew that almonds were an important ingredient in medieval cooking, but I wasn’t sure why. This article explains some of the almond’s popularity by noting that almond milk, made from almonds, doesn’t spoil like cow’s milk does. I’ve always been a bit baffled by the idea that ground nuts in water is like ‘milk’ but according to this person almond milk is enough like cow’s milk that it can actually be churned into butter. I think that must be different from what most people mean when they talk about nut butter, but I’m not really sure.

posted at: 18:04 | path: /living | link

Fri, 11 Nov 2005

Working the problem
Here’s a nice description of the general steps you can use to solve a problem.

posted at: 09:26 | path: /work | link

Thu, 10 Nov 2005

Some Induction Problems
Some example induction problems can be found here and here. This pagehas examples and also a nice way of explaining induction by putting some numbers into the n and n+1 cases.

posted at: 18:56 | path: /work | link

The most common errors in undergraduate mathematics
Here they are.

posted at: 17:58 | path: /work | link

Thu, 03 Nov 2005

Worker Motivation
Some might call me cynical, but I tend to think that the highest goal of the ‘educational establishment’ is not, in fact, education. Rather, I tend to think that the main goal of the education establishment is to turn out good little worker bees. Or maybe, more accurately, to separate the good little worker bees from the bad little worker bees. Sure, some learning takes place- and in some pockets of the establishment, I think dedicated teachers turn the focus towards learning as much as they can- but I think that for the most part the establishment itself is all about separating the ‘good workers’ from the ‘bad workers’.

But, okay, I have just admitted that this view is coming from a place of cynicism. So, with that in mind, I want to turn things around a bit and say that- you know- under the right circumstances, maybe there’s nothing inherently terrible about being a ‘good worker’. Maybe, if you have a job that supports you in turn and if you are internally motivated to work on that job and you find it satisfying in and of itself, then really, it’s all good.

Okay- I’m getting distracted from my original purpose for this post, which was to post a link to this page. It talks about worker motivation- and the fact that there is a whole area of psychology- organizational psychology- that is devoted to figuring out what the deal is with things like worker motivation, and how people fit into structured organizations, and stuff like that.

Then again, I feel a little Durkheim coming on, now that I think about it that way. Well, as some continental philosopher might say, power is power. It’s how you use it that counts.

posted at: 13:00 | path: /living | link

Developing Internal Motivation
Okay folks, let’s all sing the ‘underachiever’s song’: “You could be doing better! You could be doing better! Why aren’t you doing better! Why aren’t you doing better!”. Nah, let’s not sing it. I don’t like that song very much :).

But seriously, I myself might be at times perceived as an underachiever (although I flip flop on this one sometimes) and I’m currently working with people who might at times fall in this category. Which leads me to think about internal motivation. What is it, and how do we get it?

Here’s an interesting article about developing internal motivation in school aged students who are ‘underachievers’. It gives 20 ideas for helping students develop internal motivation. Here’s a short article on motivation in the workplace (as it applies to part time tutors). Lastly, Here’s an interesting article on the development of internal motivation in young children and how parents can enhance or decrease this internal motivation.

posted at: 11:03 | path: /living | link

Tue, 01 Nov 2005

My Slump
I have a slump. Which is to say, I have a bit of a rounded upper back. The technical term is kyphosis. You’d think this might be fairly obvious, but it has taken me quite a few years to really figure out what it going on with my back and how it affects my ability to sit and stand and do exercises. Having a bit of a rounded upper back can, it turns out, really throw the rest of your body out of whack.

The funny thing, as this yoga article notes, is that such a slump is caused by overly tight muscles in the *front* of your torso. Which makes sense when you hear it, but isn’t something that was obvious to me. So, to make the slump decrease, you need to vertically stretch your chest, and strengthen your upper back at the same time. And be careful not to over stretch your lower back or neck in the process.

posted at: 17:54 | path: /living | link

All material copyrighted by Jen Schellinck. All rights reserved.