Articles Tagged with motivation

How do you set out to learn something?

Published on

Taking charge of your own education

rolls of filmThis week our photography consultant had the opportunity to watch as two young people developed their first rolls of film. Of course he enjoyed their excitement at actually using this unfamiliar old technology, and was reminded that his own first roll was a long time ago. (It’s still available in the archives, but is—understandably—not brought out for printing very often.) More important, though, are his observations on learning things, which is not the same as being taught.

Read More

Share Button

The webmaster builds character

Published on

A physical scientist encounters social media

We mentioned, some weeks ago, that our webmaster had been assigned to develop the Five Colors S&T social media presence. This wasn’t because he’s an expert already, but because he wasn’t; in fact his inclinations tend toward weekends reading eighteenth-century essays by the light of a kerosene lamp. We thought that, apart from the fact that he generally does a decent job of anything, it would be good for him to do something unfamiliar and especially to have contact with people not like him. As Calvin’s dad (from the comic strip Calvin and Hobbes) would say, he’d build character.

Read More

Share Button

Your future as a street performer

Published on

Why passion is not a career

Our chief consultant writes:

15C03-20iAt left is a busker, a singer who performs on and near Washington, DC Metro stations. He is very, very good. His voice is rich, powerful (he sings a cappella) and educated; his choice of material is largely classical. He should be subsidized by all the companies with offices near where he performs, because a couple of minutes’ pause to listen to him on the way to work will raise employee morale more than any possible corporate vision statement.

He may in fact have other gigs. Indeed, it would be a massive waste if he didn’t. But running into him reminds us of the many areas in which people can be passionate and skilled, as well as hard-working and dedicated, and still not make a living. You can do what you love, but the money will follow someone else.

Read More

Share Button

Are selfies selfish?

Published on

A subtle social effect of technology

lensOur photographic consultant was somewhat bemused by the rise of the “selfie,” that picture of one’s self possibly including others, possibly including a situation or location, taken normally with a smart-phone camera and distributed immediately and electronically. Self-portraits are as old as art and pictures of the family in front of the Grand Canyon as old as Kodak Brownies, but the enormous flood of “selfie” shots seems to be a new phenomenon. An older generation is inclined to blame the self-centered Millenials, using the newest of technology mostly in an adolescent game of self-promotion.

We think, however, that the “selfie” instead demonstrates an interesting example of how a simple technological change can result in a social phenomenon. This is not to say that technology is a cause, but it enables unexpected things—when people are included.

Read More

Share Button

A Textbook Case

Published on

textbook and calculationsOur astronomer writes:

Now and then I come across an interview of some Nobel prize-winning (or otherwise distinguished) scientist with the inevitable question, “What got you started on your path to fame?” Almost always it was an inspiring teacher or mentor, a person who imparted a love of or excitement in doing science. Somewhere in the years between High School and Grad School, between the time when our differences were mostly potential and the time we’re on our way in a particular direction, someone lit a fire. Often there’s a quote something like, “He/She showed me that [insert science here] is more than just a set of results in a dusty textbook, but something that I really enjoyed doing.”

Similarly, in accounts of some part of the history of science it’s almost inevitable that I encounter a sentence like, “so science proceeds in sometimes a roundabout and uncertain fashion, not at all as the textbooks tell you.” Textbooks are not often held up as good examples.

The message, sometimes explicit but often implied, is that our job as teachers and scientists is to inspire and excite. Trying to impart “textbook results” is deprecated. Well, this time I am standing up for the textbook and the type of learning it represents. There is a time when it is just what we should be teaching. We need to ask the question: what are we trying to do? What is the outcome we want in our students?

Read More

Share Button

Use that camera! . . . but why?

Published on

Kodak 1918 camera and iPhoneOur photography correspondent writes: We’ve just gone live with our Use that camera! service, showing people how to use their film cameras.  But why would anyone want to do that?

Well, it’s not that film is better than digital.  That’s been settled.  With possible very tiny, specialized exceptions, digital photography can do everything film can do, and plenty that it can’t.  Digital pictures are available immediately, can be sent from your phone, can be adjusted to match your imaging vision in amazing detail; you think up your own virtues.

I still shoot film, for reasons that aren’t relevant here.  The question is why you would want to.  I can think up a few possibilities:

  • It’s different. You want to distinguish yourself from the crowd, or maybe just want some variety.
  • It’s difficult.  You like challenges.  There’s also the fun of bragging about how you overcame them.
  • Operating a fine old machine.  There is a pleasure in using a well-crafted device, even apart from any results you get.
  • It’s there, so it should be used.  It’s a shame that any well-made machine should rust away uselessly.
  • There’s a special connection.  Your great-uncle used it to take those pictures in the old album, and when you look through the viewfinder you realize you’re doing just what he did.  (Our working title for the service was Your Grandfather’s Camera.)
  • You’re writing an historical novel.  You’re aware that a 1940 Leica does not work like an iPhone, but you’re fuzzy on the details and it’s important to the plot.

The most important reason is the one that motivates you.  It may not be possible to put it into words, and it doesn’t need to be noble and serious.  Simple curiousity is a wonderful thing.

So: why would you use that camera?

Share Button