Parkour, meet ‘Assassin’s Creed.’ ‘Assassin’s Creed,’ meet Parkour.
Both of you, meet Ronnie Shalvis.
[Via Geekologie]
Programming a Core Subject from Grade 1 in Estonia
Imagine a world where learning the language of computers was a fundamental subject in our education alongside mathematics, languages and sciences.
If you think about it, that is actually the world we live in today: programming pervades almost every profession out there to some extent or another, and having a basic understanding of how software is built will benefit almost everyone.
Estonia agrees, and is taking steps to making sure the next generation is prepared for that. They have launched a program called “ProgeTiiger” which involves teaching Estonian students from grade 1 right through to 12 about computer programming as well as learning how to create applications for web and mobiles.
This development is intended to accelerate Estonia well past other Eastern European countries in IT development, which they smartly focus on after having produced the wonder that is Skype (that was then sold to Microsoft for $8.5 billion). They have some of the fastest Internet connections in the world, which makes it a fantastic playground for IT start-ups – and those need good programmers.
I agree with the author of the Geek.com article in that I see this as a good step for Estonia, and it would make sense for education systems across the world adopt a similar tactic. As technology is integrated into everything we do, it would only make sense for everyone to, at the very least, have a basic understanding of how it works.
I know for physics, we had to learn programming in the very last physics subject of the undergrad degree. I had never done programming before in my life and it was a real challenge to get my head around the way computer languages work. Having a foundation to build on would have made the process much easier and more productive. And from what I hear (since I didn’t continue further studies in physics), when you do higher level research in physics, this is a necessary skill when analyzing data and simulating various situations.
What do you think? Is programming something that should be taught from the beginning of your education, or is it something that can wait till later only if you’re really interested in it?
[Via Geek.com and Ubuntu Life | Image Credit]
Attention, Future “Dexters”: Blood-Splattered Murals Without the Mess
Geektastic Harry Potter Cupcakes [Pic]
These amazing Harry Potter cupcakes were made by Hitchin, Hertfordshire-based bakery Blossom Cakes and Bakes.
[Via TN]
SOCIAL MEDIA IS CONSUMING OUR LIVES! [Video]
We live in a ridiculously hyper fast pace life where information is exchanged so rapidly that it makes us feel inadequate and drains our attention span. This painting was executed at the GALORE festival in Copenhagen, Denmark. The painting is a time-lapse composed of over 9,000 photos and painted over a 5-day period. As irony has it this video will be reblogged and seen on social media outlets the world over. Please join in and reblog on your facebook and twitter accounts. Enjoy and try to keep up.
[Above]
49 Quadrocopters Form 3D Models in the Sky [Video]
Watch as 49 Quadrocopters take off from the ground at the voestalpine Klangwolke and turn into pixels in the sky, forming 3D-Models right before our eyes.
Awesome Science Stuff That Happened Today [Sep 5]
It was a good day for science-loving geeks everywhere. Here are the day’s big announcements, from neuroscience to plasma physics.
Physicists teleport quantum data 143km between Canary Islands
[image]
Just a few months ago, researchers in China set a new distance record for transferring quantum (or light) data at 97 kilometers. That record didn’t hold long, as Wednesday it was announced that a team from the University of Vienna and the Austrian Academy of Sciences has “successfully transmitted quantum states” between the islands of La Palma and Tenerife, measuring a total 143km apart. The achievement bodes well for the future of a quantum internet and all sorts of fancy-pants technology, but don’t expect your kids to put teleporters on the Christmas list: the transportation of quantum states is separate from that of matter, and we haven’t really worked out that whole “sending something from one place to another instantly” thing. [PhysOrg]
Researchers learn to manipulate dreams… in rats
It’s no secret that lab rats run through a lot of mazes. Their progress is an excellent indicator of cognitive ability, especially when under the influence of… whatever scientists are testing. But now it seems there’s no escape from the maze for these poor rats, even in their sleep: researchers at MIT have successfully learned to manipulate the content of rats’ dreams, and that content is — what else — the maze they ran through yesterday. Working at MIT’s Picower Institute for Learning and Memory, neuroscientist Matt Wilson developed a system of audio cues that associated the rats’ memories to an activity (maze-running), which was then replayed during times of rest. The rats then dreamed about the parts of the maze associated with each audio cue, according to neural activity measured during the maze run and sleep. [Discovery News]
35-year-old Voyager I stubbornly refuses to leave home
Voyager I may be the most distant man-made object in space, but it seems the spacecraft is bent on becoming the Sun’s version of a middle-aged basement dweller. After years of reports that Voyager is finally ready to exit our solar system, it seems the craft is still quite a distance from reaching interstellar space. Recent data received from Voyager 1 indicate that it is solidly within the Sun’s influence, which means it could still be another 15 years before it reaches the heliopause — the boundary between our solar system and te rest of the universe. [New Scientist]
NASA releases footage of a really, really ridiculously good-looking solar flare
Once again, NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory delivers. Recently a solar prominence called a filament erupted from the Sun and wrought gorgeous havoc on the local spaceweather. And of course, SDO captured it all. [NASA]
Fus Ro Dog!! [Picture]
[Via Imgur]