Black
Lives, Women, Inspiration, Role Models
"Katherine
G. Johnson, the human computer behind some of NASA’s biggest advancements,
attended the ribbon cutting of the research facility named in her honor on
Friday (9/22).
The
99-year-old mathematician was thrust into the spotlight last year when the
Oscar-nominated film “Hidden Figures” told the story of three black women who
broke barriers at NASA. Johnson, along with Dorothy Vaughan and Mary
Jackson, shattered the segregational norms within the agency in the 1960s to
push forward some of the country’s greatest aerospace advancements.
The
Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility is a state-of-the-art
facility run by NASA’s Langley Research Center. The building, which cost $23
million, will consolidate four of the organization’s data centers as a part of
Langley’s 20-year revitalization plan."
Crisis
and Conflict, Education, Heroes
"IN 2015, YASMIN Al
Dabaan fled the war in Syria and settled just across the border in Turkey, in
the town of Reyhanli. One day, the single mother and teacher saw a Syrian
refugee girl searching through a trashcan for food. That image inspired Dabaan
to set up the Active Child Center,
a place where street children could come to feel safe. At the center, children
get informal lessons every afternoon. Every Friday, Dabaan cooks them a big
meal. Her small teaching salary funds most of the center, and the rest comes
from private donations.
Ultimately, Dabaan would like to see
all the children attend a proper school, but many families are unable to afford
the fees. So, she also helps parents find jobs, which means their children no
longer have to work on the streets to help support their families."
Education,
Technology
"The platform allows students to learn at
their own pace, argues Andrew Goldin, Summit’s chief of schools. At
conventional schools, “there are many students waiting for others to catch up.”
Rather than rely on high-stakes tests, the platform tracks individuals as they
go along. It prompts pupils, Goldin says, to reflect on why and how they learn.
Pupils in a senior year English class seem to agree. One
17-year-old girl says that, unlike her friends at other schools, “I actually
like my school”, since it offers lots of chances to try out new things. Her
deskmate, also 17, adds that, “you really get to know the teachers, and they to
know you.” It helps that teachers at Summit spend less time than their peers
marking lessons. They can use that time mentoring pupils, coaching them in
“habits of success” such as stress management and curiosity and helping with
pupils’ projects.
Not everybody is as delighted as these pupils are by the
spread of such techniques. Benjamin Riley, executive director of Deans for
Impact, a charity, believes that giving children too much control over the pace
and content of what they learn can be dangerous. “Effortful thinking is what
our minds are built to avoid.” While some may thrive in such a system, many
others will take the easy way out and not think too much.
Cognitive scientists such as Daniel Willingham of the University of
Virginia worry that autonomy can be taken too far. If children can opt out of
learning important facts, he says, they will find it harder to understand more
complex ideas at a later stage."
Technology,
Future, Cars
"“In
60 seconds you have to consider 70 options,” says my rickshaw driver Raju,
leaning over his shoulder as we weave through traffic. We’re navigating the
infamous congested streets of Bangalore, and he’s explaining the rules of the
road.
Having lived in India for
two-and-a-half years, I get what he means. Not an inch of the road is wasted –
if there’s a gap, a scooter will fill it. Vehicles travel bumper to bumper.
Overtaking is attempted as frequently as possible. Indicators and wing mirrors
are optional extras. Most drivers seem to rely on the incessant honking of
nearby vehicles – almost a form of echolocation.
But there is method to the madness.
Drivers deftly navigate around manoeuvres that would lead to accidents in the
UK, and offenders rarely illicit more than a mutter. They’ve adapted to
predictable unpredictability.
We
expect anything; only then do we make predictions. We are always expecting that
the car in front could go left, right, brake suddenly,” Raju says.
"Something always happens."
This driving philosophy has complex
cultural and historical roots, but it's also a product of rapid growth in both
urban populations and vehicle ownership – which government figures show nearly
quadrupled between 2000 and 2013. This growth is outstripping the ability to
build new infrastructure, leaving citizens to adapt.
India is far from alone – rapid urban
overcrowding and car ownership put countries like China, Brazil and the
Philippines all in a similar boat.
But for many tech companies and
researchers, India’s chaotic roads make it the perfect testing ground. They
might help us solve some of the big problems that come with living in crowded
cities… ones that are only going to keep getting more crowded."
Travel,
Innovations
"In a time when our phones check us into our flights, vacations
are photographed by
drone, and travelers cheques
have been replaced by Apple Pay, it’s hard to imagine that, not too long ago, a
suitcase was a cumbersome item with no stand-up handle to drag it by, and,
before 1970, no wheels to glide on at all. For a little perspective, we managed
to put a man on the moon faster than it took to invent rolling luggage.
In fact, just as the
debut issue of Condé Nast Traveler arrived on newsstands in 1987, the
now ubiquitous Rollaboard suitcase made its first appearance in airport
terminals, after a resourceful Northwest Airlines 747 pilot named Robert Plath
had the bright idea to turn his suitcase upright, add on a couple of extra
wheels, and insert a pull-up handle. However, the very first use of wheels on a
suitcase can be credited to the late Bernard D. Sadow, vice president of a
Massachusetts luggage company, who invented rolling luggage 40 years ago. Back
then, Sadow’s design rolled flat on its front and was pulled via a strap
attached to the top. Though initially met with resistance by stubborn
travelers, he told the New York Times in 2010, his
innovation caught on like wildfire after a little convincing. Sadow, who
patented numerous inventions over his lifetime, called it “one of my best
ideas.”"
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