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WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Scientists said on Wednesday they had created a new form of matter and predicted it could help lead to the next generation of superconductors for use in electricity generation, more efficient trains and countless other applications.
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How did they create a new form of matter?
They took a gas, supercooled it to nearly 0 Kelvin, and rearranged some electrons... but it's still a gas. Albeit a very *cold* gas, it's still gas, yes?
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Originally posted by Carrie@Feb 4 2004, 07:59 AM How did they create a new form of matter?
They took a gas, supercooled it to nearly 0 Kelvin, and rearranged some electrons... but it's still a gas. Albeit a very *cold* gas, it's still gas, yes?
Because there are more than just gases, solids, and liquids. This newly created one, the "fermionic condensate", has strange properties at the quantum level which make it not fit the definition of a "gas".
And of course, you can change the temperature of water and make it a gas. It's not still a liquid just because it once was.
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Originally posted by Carrie@Feb 4 2004, 09:54 AM As far as I was aware there were only 3 types of matter - gases, solids, and liquids.
That's the high school version.
Sort of like when you learn an electron is a little particle that travels in a circle around a nucleus. In reality, an electron has both wave and particle properties. It's not REALLY a little pill shaped particle with a minus sign on it. That just helps us to deal with it because in our everyday experience, we don't come across anything like an electron which has these strange dual properties.
The way these things are taught probably has a lot to do with what is called the circular method of teaching. You teach one version of the subject and then as you go deeper into the subject you teach another level. I'm not a big fan of this. I think we should teach 5th graders about quantum mechanics and that what they are learning is outdated and approximate models of the true reality.
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Originally posted by Joe Sixpack@Feb 5 2004, 09:05 AM Teachers need to be better trained
Completely agree. I taught high school for a year and can say this was the number one problem in classrooms. Poor training of the teachers. Most of them were "readers" but not teachers. They could read from the book but were ill equipped to handle questions. They also didn't feel it was their job to have to motivate their students. I guess that's really a philosophical point. I had a conversation with a college professor who also held that view. But me, I feel a teacher should be an instructor on the subject, an instructor on general learning methods and a motivator. A GREAT teacher doesn't even need a textbook to teach. How to attract great teachers? I think, like you said higher salaries but also there has to be a process to use those higher salaries to identify and attract the right people.
Overall teachers were not even that interested in the subjects they were teaching. I can cite examples ;-)
From what I could tell, many were teaching just to bring a second income into their home and were just going through the motions. I didn't see much love for teaching. This was in a brand new school in a middle to upper middle-class district with above average standardized scores.
Of course, what Peaches is saying is dead-on. Parents can have an influence on their children that transcends anything that happens at school. Lots of poor kids with good parents end up with great educations.
Often the difference between kids in the same schools is what happens in the home. I think it likely that kids with higher expectations on them tend to have higher grades.
One problem is that most poor kids have parents who either don't have an inclination, the ability, or the time to instruct their children.
I'm a huge fan of higher standards. Raise the bar.
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Originally posted by Joe Sixpack@Feb 5 2004, 09:05 AM Public education needs more money. Teachers need to be better trained and paid more. Poor kids deserve a decent education too.
Tenure for teachers needs to be disolved, and they need to be held accountable for what the students learn.
Public shools where I live are fine, most have a more than 98% graduation rate, and over 90% go on to higher education.
I wonder if the shitty average of inner city public shools might have something to do with a larger percentage of people that have not held a job for more than 2 weeks in their life, the largest number of broken homes where the father (usually) has no part of the childs life because he has better things to do, like heroin.
Can we please stop blaming government for the percentage of people that simply have no drive or desire to better themselves.
So...what does everyone think about school vouchers? I'm personally for them as I see them as a way tax payers can finally pick a sector where their tax money goes and think public schools will try harder with direct competition, among other pluses.
Here's an experience I had. I took over a high-school class for a teacher for a few weeks. At the end of that period there was a test. My goal was for every student in that class to get an A on the test. This was a rather troublesome class. They were supposed to be poor students. I remember one of the girls in the class had a 17 average and her friend had a 22. They sat next to each other and claimed they were "no good at math".
It's amazing what you can do in a week to boost a teen's confidence and how much that translates in a desire to do well.
Well, as I desired, every student in the class got an A. When the teacher returned she insisted that the students must have cheated and made them retake the test. In the retake there were something like 17 A's and 3 B's. Pretty good and obviously the students knew the material at or pretty close to an A level. Maybe the extra few weeks allowed some of the last minute cramming to be forgotten or maybe it was students in a pissed off mood. Maybe there was a little luck in ALL A's (probably) but the point remains. This same situation has been reported by teachers before and I remember watching a movie about one of them.
Here's the difficulty. If a teacher receives the material they are supposed to teach the students. A good teacher can teach them all well enough to receive A's. The school administration will go nuts though claiming that is impossible. But the fact of the matter is that the material is so simple that the right teacher CAN teach it well enough for every student to understand it at an A level. What they are missing is that they set the bar and they set it to low for good teachers.
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Originally posted by Peaches@Feb 5 2004, 09:49 AM So...what does everyone think about school vouchers? I'm personally for them as I see them as a way tax payers can finally pick a sector where their tax money goes and think public schools will try harder with direct competition, among other pluses.
It's evolution. Competition with culling is the way to go.
Competition between classmates.
Competition between teachers.
Competition between schools.
Not to say I support any particular plan (Bush I, Bush II) but I like the general idea.
A lot of the discussion points can be answered by one's opinion of what the role of education is.
Due to politics some people want to make sure poor students get a fair education. Others are more concerned that the best students get the best education. If everyone gets the same education then of course, the best students are getting an education less than they can handle. So some genius - probably in 19th Century Prussia - decides we need varying levels of classes in our Uber school system. "Advanced placement". "Remedial classes". Then it's realized that some poorer school districts don't even have enough students to warrant having an AP class. Ax the AP class. But, but, but ... Round and round it goes.
The simplest solution is a robot instructor for every student that designs a course based upon their progress. ;-)
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Stated it many times but .......
Education begins and ends at home
The education your child receives in school be it public or private is a secondary education to the education your share with your children
That being said I agree that teachers are underpaid and many do not receive proper training in the art of education and for whatever reasons lack motivational skills
The second income is all too true, a couple who are acquaintances of mine were a prime example. She was a school teacher while they planned their family and he furthered his career enough so she could be a stay at home mom
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Originally posted by Vick@Feb 5 2004, 10:13 AM Stated it many times but .......
Education begins and ends at home
I agree. What would be optimal though is for kids to receive a great education at home and at school.
What is an "education" though? What is currently taught in the schools can give one the most basic understanding of various area of human knowledge but leaves one well short in skills that are actually useful in the world. But of course,we also have to get enough kids interested in academics so that by the time all the weeding out is down we are left with enough kids interested in biology, physics, medicine, and mathematics to fill our grad schools.
I would like to see a much larger role for apprenticeship in the public school system. Kids learning trades. There is some of this scattered through the US (and the world). There is a program in New York called BOCES which teaches various vocations to students. Not sure how good it is but it's on the right path.
Funny enough though the system seems to work. We have plenty of researchers, academics, auto mechanics, chefs and any other vocation you can think of. When all is said and done, Adam Smith's marketplace mechanism is extremely powerful.
Not every kid can be above average.
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One thing I wish the US public schools would do is have some of the same teachers throughout your schooling.
For instance, the private schools I went to in FL had maybe 5 teachers who taught math. It was a 6 year school (Forms 1-6 which was in essence grades 7-12). You very easily could have had the same math teacher all 6 years. This enabled that teacher to know your strengths and weaknesses, what not to put up with, how far they could push you etc. The problems is that any kind of teacher familiarity is virtually impossible these days with the massively huge schools.
My son was in the gifted programs and the gifted teacher was always the same throughout elementary and middle school (in HS there was no gifted program per se, they just took advanced classes). Those were the teachers that IMHO taught him the most. Granted, it could have been due to a classroom of kids who wanted to learn, but I think a part of it was a constant teacher.
However, transiency in the schools, especially those with lower incomes, will always nullify this.
Originally posted by Peaches@Feb 5 2004, 11:09 AM
It's funny - most of the guys I grew up with who were really good at history watched a lot of movies and TV shows involving history while they were growing up. And people say comics, movies and TV aren't good for you. :P
When I was in college a woman that my father introduced me to told me that her kid would only read comic books . So she took them away from him. After that, of course, he wouldn't read anything. She asked me what she should do to get him interested in reading. I said "Give him back his comic books".
True story.
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Originally posted by Colin@Feb 5 2004, 07:32 AM I would like to see a much larger role for apprenticeship in the public school system. Kids learning trades. There is some of this scattered through the US (and the world). There is a program in New York called BOCES which teaches various vocations to students. Not sure how good it is but it's on the right path.
I agree. A few years ago, i lived in Ireland. We lived in a small town (population of about 10 thousand at the time) and there were a few primary schools, 1 public highschool, 1 private highschool, and a tech school.
If you didn't have the money to go to the private school, you had to take a test to get into the public school, as they liked to keep the class numbers down. So, if you didn't rank high enough on the test, or couldn't afford to get into the private school, you were sent to tech school, to learn a trade.
I was really young at the time (my older brother was in his first year of highschool when we left), but i look back at it now and i think it's a great idea. You eliminate the students that aren't interested in going to university and becoming a professional, and you weed out the kids that just aren't capable. Sounds harsh, but like you said, not every kid can be above average.
So by the time these kids are 13 or 14, they've already started an apprenticeship, and by the time they're 17 or 18, they are fully qualified in whatever trade they had chosen. The students that went to highschool have smaller classes, which is a better learning environment. They don't have to deal with students that don't have any intellectual goals (the students that normally disrupt lessons). It's win win.
I live in Australia now, and it pisses me off. Everyone here pushes students towards university.
"You have to graduate highschool or you won't be able to get a job"
"You have to go to university or you'll never amount to anything"
And intentionally or not, i think they're putting across the point that becoming a tradesman is a failure. People are ashamed to become tradesman. There are kids here reaching grade 10 (which is the year they're allowed to legally drop out) and they're being persuaded to stay until the graduate instead of leaving, and getting a 2 year headstart on their apprenticeships.
Tradesman are important. There is no shame in doing a blue collar job, and i think that should be communicated to young people.
Originally posted by chodadog@Feb 5 2004, 01:16 PM If you didn't have the money to go to the private school, you had to take a test to get into the public school, as they liked to keep the class numbers down. So, if you didn't rank high enough on the test, or couldn't afford to get into the private school, you were sent to tech school, to learn a trade.
I agree - it's an excellent idea but here in the US, you will NEVER see it fly due to the political correctness that handicaps us.
Right now in GA there are college scholarships which are funded by the lottery. You have to have a B average and maintain a B in college. It pays for tuition with some money for books and fees to GA colleges.
The problem is the kids who normally wouldn't go to college - not just because of the money - anyone who really wants to attend can fund college - but because they don't have the drive or desire to get a degree. They're going because it's free. The high school teachers feel guilty not letting lower income Johnny and June go for free, so they inflate the grades. The last stats I saw said 40% of these scholarship kids lost the scholarship after a year due to poor grades. That means millions of dollars were pissed away on kids who really had no business being in college. :angry:
Teach kids who aren't interested in academics a trade. It seems like such an easy solution.......
Hear hear to all of the above.
I'd love to get Kelsey comic books (I'm a collector and a huge Marvel nut myself) but his little brother shreds nearly everything he touches - even if it's made of metal. We can't wait until we can move back into a bigger house and give them different bedrooms so the little academic can have his library and destructo-boy can have... well... steel furniture? LOL
Colin I agree with you so much about "give him back his comic books". Egads, you don't squelch a love like that, you feed it! And with comic books you could expand into so many different areas... get him some books on Stan Lee, get him some art supplies and some books on how to draw, all kinds of things! It all starts with just a love of something.
Vouchers - thumbs up.
I forget now who said to stop blaming the gov't for everything (Aeon maybe?) but umm... who is to blame? It's the gov't that took away the small hometown schools and pushed the kids out of homeschooling and farmed them into their big public school institutions. It's the gov't that sets the SOLs (Standards of Learning) - and keeps dropping those standards more and more for both the teachers and the students. It's the gov't that creates the environment in which our kids learn in school... zero tolerance, ebonics as a second language, "tolerance" period...
And ultimately it's the gov't that should be held responsible for the results that are coming out of the schools. Shit rolls downhill. If the students aren't doing well, look at the teachers. If the teachers aren't doing well, look at the superintendent and the local school system. If the school system isn't doing well, look at the gov't that is funding it, hiring the superintendents, hiring the teachers, and setting (lowering) the standards.
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Originally posted by Carrie@Feb 5 2004, 01:46 PM Shit rolls downhill. If the students aren't doing well, look at the teachers. If the teachers aren't doing well, look at the superintendent and the local school system. If the school system isn't doing well, look at the gov't that is funding it, hiring the superintendents, hiring the teachers, and setting (lowering) the standards.
You left one out of that equation
Look at the parents who accept substandard educations
You don't, I don't
and in the end it is we who are responsible for the education our children receive
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Originally posted by Joe Sixpack@Feb 5 2004, 07:29 PM The end result of this is that you get schools in hillbilly areas that decide that their students don't need to learn about evolution and natural selection in school because the Bible says something different.
You might want to learn a little more about the facts if you're referring to GA and evolution.
Originally posted by Joe Sixpack@Feb 5 2004, 04:35 PM Not specifically.
Religious fanatics, usually in Southern states of the USA, have been trying to ban the teaching of evolution in schools for decades.
go to saudi arabia, iran, syria and spout off about religious fanatics indoctrinating education with theological overtones...
get over yer hardon for the US...it's fuckin nationalistic penis envy - you won't do anything other than annoy people...at least with the towel heads you could end up a martyr and serve some purpose.
It's not evading...it's addressing the point - you mentioned you've visited the US - people that visit a place...don't live in that place...
Given a guess...I'd say you live in australia...
Start worrying about the idiocy in your own country first...get it fixed - then what you say might have some merit to the US - I don't care what austalians do...tis not my business....that's what euro poofters and fucked up folks fail to realize...no one cares what you do...you care what we do...go figger eh.
Originally posted by aeon@Feb 5 2004, 05:49 PM .that's what euro poofters and fucked up folks fail to realize...no one cares what you do...you care what we do...go figger eh.
You've got it wrong.
I discuss the United States because having a discussion with an average American about another country would be like trying to discuss the theory of relativity with a retard. You are largely oblivious to other cultures and ways of life.
You would know naught about the idiocy in my country. So it would be pointless having any sort of discussion with you about it.
Last edited by Joe Sixpack at Feb 5 2004, 06:01 PM
eventually you'll grow up...and realize - you can't save the world. The more time you spend trying to save strangers...the more the people close to you suffer.
Originally posted by aeon@Feb 5 2004, 06:07 PM eventually you'll grow up...and realize - you can't save the world. The more time you spend trying to save strangers...the more the people close to you suffer.
What are you on about? I'm not trying to save the world.
This is a message board and I am expressing my views. If you don't like it then argue with me or something but accusing me of being jealous of your country is just ludicrous. Trust me, the LAST thing I am is jealous of the U.S.A. I am quite happy living in Australia.
then congratulations - I'm happy for you...finding US flags burning amusing, or pointing out the flaws of US southerners should be none of your concern...or what the US does in any regards...
[edit]go back to your happy existence and stop being concerned with what another country - where you don't live - where your opinions mean shit - does [/edit]
Originally posted by aeon@Feb 5 2004, 06:15 PM then congratulations - I'm happy for you...finding US flags burning amusing, or pointing out the flaws of US southerners should be none of your concern...or what the US does in any regards...
Are you trying to tell me what I can and cannot discuss on this message board?
hahahaha... if you don't like my posts then that's tough. I'll discuss what I like thank you very much.
Originally posted by Carrie@Feb 5 2004, 01:46 PM Vouchers - thumbs up.
I forget now who said to stop blaming the gov't for everything (Aeon maybe?) but umm... who is to blame? It's the gov't that took away the small hometown schools and pushed the kids out of homeschooling and farmed them into their big public school institutions. It's the gov't that sets the SOLs (Standards of Learning) - and keeps dropping those standards more and more for both the teachers and the students. It's the gov't that creates the environment in which our kids learn in school... zero tolerance, ebonics as a second language, "tolerance" period...
And ultimately it's the gov't that should be held responsible for the results that are coming out of the schools. Shit rolls downhill. If the students aren't doing well, look at the teachers. If the teachers aren't doing well, look at the superintendent and the local school system. If the school system isn't doing well, look at the gov't that is funding it, hiring the superintendents, hiring the teachers, and setting (lowering) the standards.
Where did you get your information? The Timmy McVeigh Foundation for the History of Education?
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