Wednesday 18 June 2008

The Importance of Animals or Beasts

What is it about animals that they "get through" to the most severely impaired children? How can animals reach a human mind dead-ened to anything else? It's not mystical or spiritual, but elementary biology. Animals are and always have been throughout our evolution the most stimulating, fascinating things in the world around us. Today, dulled as we are by the high-tech, fast-paced world we have made for ourselves, we see animals as remote and irrelevant.

We may not have animals consciously on our minds very often today; nonetheless they are alive at the deepest levels of our consciousness. Their importance to the human mind and culture is well known to art historians, folklorists and anthropologists.

The animal presence was best explained by biologist Paul Shepard in his 1978 book, Thinking Animal Animals, he said, got our attention more than anything else in nature as we were evolving. "Animals," Shepard wrote, "are among the first inhabitants of the mind's eye. They are basic to the development of speech and thought. Because of their part in the growth of consciousness, they are inseparable from the series of events in each human life. indispensable to our becoming human in the fullest sense."

Throughout our evolution, animals have helped us come to terms with the strange and wonderful world around us. When we lived as foragers with Earth-bound religions, animals were the First Beings and world-shapers, and the teachers and ancestors of people. When we became agriculturists and looked to the heavens for instruction about the seasons and the elements, we saw animal forms among the stars. Of the 48 Ptolemaic constellations, all but a few are organic, and 25 are named for animals. Of the 22 more that were added in the 17th century, 19 have animal names. When we built colossal earthworks to appeal to the power in the heavens, we built them in animal forms.

In Ice-age eaves, the first art shows the human fascination with animal forms. Animals were thought to embody the spirits and powers of nature, and, as art historians know, animals have been used to symbolize nature ever since. In ancient Egypt, Hathor, the cow goddess of the sky, was believed to have given birth to the sun. The sky was seen as a giant cow, her legs the four corners of the world. Ancient astronomers explained the workings of the universe by reference to the zodiac, which means, literally, "the circle of animals." Universally, animals have bonded us to the rest of the living world.

Animals must feed and empower the human mind like nothing else, for we see their presence also in children's toys, in nursery rhymes, in Aesop's fables, and in other moral tales. And we see the animal presence in language, where they provide the basis for some 5,000 expressions.

A GRADUAL ALIENATION

We tend not to think about the importance of animals anymore. In taking over the world, we have marginalized animals, reduced them from kinfolk, powers, and spirits to commodities, sources of spare parts and pests. Animals no longer matter -- or so we like to think.

But they do matter, and in powerful ways that we need to understand if we are to come to terms with nature. In reducing animals' stature, we reduced all of nature and constructed a world view in which people are above and apart from nature. This "dominionist" worldview was built, most agree, during the transition from foraging to farming that occurred between 10,000 and 5,000 years ago. Marginalizing animals was a cornerstone of the whole edifice, for more than any other agricultural development, it broke up the old ideas of kinship and continuity with the living world.

When early herders and farmers intensified their uses of animals, they needed ways to suppress their older beliefs in animal spirit-powers. People were, after all, gradually enslaving their former gods, teachers and ancestors. Before animals could become tools and commodities, they had to be brought down from their pedestals. Over time, the emerging culture came up with a new set of beliefs about animals' essential evil and baseness. Those combined to form an attitude of hatred and contempt for animals.

Today, we describe serial killers and other criminals as "animals" or "beasts" when we want to describe their lust, cruelty or senseless violence -- all behaviors that are, nature writer John Rodman notes, "more frequently observed on the part of men than of beasts."

A sample essay on The Importance of Animals

Essay by Anita Misra, (1997)

Ever since the dawn of time man and animals have co-existed in the same environment. Scientifically, man himself is classified as an animal with similar needs. Although animals have killed man and man has hunted animals alike, theirs is a symbiotic relationship which cannot be refuted whatever age or time.

In Charles Darwin's theory of evolution, the existence of a conducive eco-system is highly dependent on the interaction between man and beast.

Different types of animals occupy various strata in the food chain of which man is invariably a part. Man relies on animals for food. Most people eat chicken, beef, mutton and pork as well as eggs and milk.

The very existence of man and the nourishment he needs from the time he is a baby comes mostly from animals.

Vegetarians and vegans have argued that they do not rely on animals for food. This is a false assumption as the vegetables and plants that feed the people are highly dependent on animals. In the wild, the animals eat the plants; if no animals ate the plants, there would be an overcrowding of weeds which would lead to the unhealthy development of plant life, resulting in an imbalance in the eco-system.

Animals also help in dispersing the seeds of fruits and vegetables in excretion. This helps to ensure that there is a continuity in the abundance of plant life. The circle of life is held in place by the animals, ie. the animals eat the plants, the animals help the plants reproduce and man eats both the animal and the plant. The faeces of the animals also help in the growth of the plants. When animals die, their decaying bodies also provide nourishment for the plants which in turn nourish the human beings. In vegetable farms, most organic fertilizers also come from decaying animal and plant matter.

Besides food, man also relies on animals for his livelihood. This can be analysed in two ways: indirectly and directly. Agriculturally based countries such as Australia and Argentina rely on some animals to get rid of other animals which might harm their crops. For instance, following the agriculture downturn in Argentina, state authorities released hundreds of foxes to kill the rabbits which were devouring agricultural produce in the field itself and causing great losses to the farmers.

Farmers also use animals, eg. oxen, to plow their land.

More directly, many people use animals as a means of living.

In India hundreds of thousands of people train animals to perform on the streets. Monkeys, cobras and donkeys provide a source of income for their owners and entertainment for the public. The circus works on this concept. Which circus will thrive without the wonderful pantheon of animals? The zoo and the Night Safari also use animals to entertain as well to collect revenue from the tourist industry to pump into the economy. Policemen also use animals like dogs for sniffing out drugs or carrying out search and rescue.

Animals are also crucial in the education of mankind. Medical students often use animals in the laboratory sessions to effectively understand concepts of anatomy. In scientific research, animals are used as guinea pigs to test a product before it is used on humans.

This has often been labelled the exploitation of animals but the importance of using animals to test new products is undeniable. Although human life is placed above that of animals, the necessity of animals to ensure certain aspects of safety for man is critical.

The social standing of man in some ways can be gauged from animals.

If a man has two oxen in India, he is given due respect and if he were to lose the oxen, it would be akin to losing his honour. In the olden days, even today, the possession of horses was considered a great achievement. In medieval France, if a man were to lose his horse due to sheer carelessness, he would often mete out severe punishment upon himself. Using animals to gauge social status might seem frivolous and flippant on the surface, but it has been practised for thousands of years and the importance of animals serving this function will continue in strong focus.

Animals also help develop the emotional and psychological well-being of people. Many people who keep pets such as dogs develop a strong emotional bonding with the animals. They tend to embrace qualities such as sensitivity and loyalty. Of course this is not true with some people who are prone to violent behaviour around animals but studies have shown that most people who have pets around them tend to be gentler, kinder and more loyal. They also develop a sense of responsibility. Children who have pets grow up, often taking these characteristics with them.

Animals also have a therepeutic quality which makes them good healers together with medicine. Some years ago, a girl in Ohio was suffering from high fever with no sign of recovering. Her parents requested her dog to be placed by her bedside and miraculously, within two days, she was on the road to recovery. This phenomenon has been difficult to explain but has been proven effective many times when the emotional boundaries between man and beast break down.

There are many other ways in which man relies on animals, for instance, clothing and accessories. Animals are a source of nourishment, a business as well as emotional and intellectual entities for man.

Unfortunately, Man has taken animals for granted, destroying wildlife and exploiting it unnecessarily for his own selfish reasons. No matter what the animal: carnivore, herbivore or omnivore, they all play a crucial role, directly or indirectly in the existence of man and this aspect of animals has to be understood before man can live blissfully in a symbiotic relationship with them.

Content: 24/30, Language = 16/20, Total = 40/50 (A1).
Well done. Quite the best I have read on this topic. It is mature and sophisticated in tone - even though it covers predictable areas.

resource : http://schools.moe.edu.sg/rjc/subjects/english/gp/downloads/misc-animals.htm

Sunday 15 June 2008

How to Play String Instrument using Physic terms

How to play a string instrument using physics terms?

Homework question please help!
Describe the physical process that occurs as your instrument is played and produces sound. Begin with force and finish with detection by the human ear. Include types of waves produced and any and all technical (physics) terms possible. Extra points may be given for terms from 1st semester. (pressure, force, newtons laws)

Answer

You pluck or pull or bang on a string that is stretched between two fixed points. Because it's fixed at two points, that limits the wavelengths that are possible--the endpoints have to be nodes of the wave, so the wavelength must be 2, 2/3, 2/5, 2/7, 2/9, etc times the length of the string. These are the harmonics of the string.

Waves on a string travel at a fixed speed--the square root of tension over density. So if you know the speed and the harmonic wavelengths, you know the harmonic frequencies.

So when you deform the string, it will vibrate with all its harmonic frequencies. The ratio of the frequencies depends on the shape of the deformation. You could use Fourier analysis to figure this out. If you create a sharp deformation by plucking the string, you get a lot of the higher harmonics, so the sound is very twangy. If you strum it gently, you get mostly the principal frequency and the sound is smoother.

The sound is produced when the vibrating string bangs into the surrounding air and causes pressure disturbances. These pressure disturbances propagate into the surrounding air (which is what sound is).

If you want more basic physics on how a wave propagates through a string, read this wiki:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vibrating_string
basics of sound:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sound#Physi...

Hydrophonics System : Continuous Flow Systems

Continuous Flow Systems

Most commercial hydroponic systems direct a continuous flow of nutrient solution over the plant roots. One continuous flow system uses polyvinyl chloride (PVC) pipe of the type commonly used for household waste plumbing. A 2-inch pipe for lettuce or a 4- to 6-inch pipe for tomatoes may be set up with a slight gradient to allow for flow of the solution. Holes of 1- to 1 1/2-inch diameter are drilled in the pipe, and the plants are inserted into the holes. Lettuce plants will support themselves if they have been started in growing cubes. Tomato plants must be supported with wire or string.

The nutrient solution is held in a large tank and pumped or allowed to flow by gravity to the growing pipes. The continuously flowing nutrient solution bathes the roots and then returns to the holding tank. The solution aerates itself as it flows back into the tank.

Major problems with using PVC pipe are its relatively high initial cost and the need for cleaning. After a crop has been grown in the pipe, it should be thoroughly cleaned with a 0.5 to 1.0 percent sodium hypochlorite solution (made by mixing one part of household bleach with nine parts of water) to prevent contamination from disease organisms.

With the nutrient film technique (NFT) the same methods but less expensive materials are used. A flexible plastic tube supported by a wooden tray is used in place of rigid PVC pipe. The tube is made of black plastic film (much like the plastic film mulch use for gardens) with holes punched at specified intervals. The plants are started in root cubes and then placed in the tube where they are bathed in a continuous flow of nutrient solution.

A variation of the continuous flow system is marketed as the Pipe Dream. This system uses 2-inch corrugated plastic drainage pipe placed vertically in a 6-inch drainage pipe for tomatoes or a 2-inch pipe for lettuce (Figure 8). A plastic mesh tube filled with peat moss is placed in the vertical tube and allowed to hang into the horizontal pipe. A nutrient solution flowing in the horizontal pipe supplies water and fertilizer, which move up into the peat moss and thus to the plant roots. Although seeds can be planted directly in the peat moss, it is best to start with transplants.

Hydrophonics System : Aeroponics

Aeroponics

The adventurous hobbyist may wish to try an even more exotic method of growing plants. In the aeroponic system the roots of the plant grow in a closed container. A misting system bathes the roots in a film of nutrient solution and keeps them near 100 percent relative humidity to prevent drying.

The container may be of almost any design as long as it is moisture proof and dark. Tomatoes may be grown in tall, narrow containers lined with plastic. Lettuce and strawberries have been grown in A-frame containers (Figure 7) to make the best use of available space and light.


Position the spray nozzles so that at least a portion of each plant's roots are sprayed directly. You may leave the nozzles on at low pressure continuously or operate them intermittently, on for 20 seconds and off for 40 seconds. A fungicide may be added to the solution to avoid root rot pathogens.

Hydrophonics System : Aggregate Culture

Aggregate Culture

Growing plants in aggregates such as sand or gravel is often preferred to the water culture method since the aggregate helps to support the roots. The aggregate is held in the same type of tank as is used for a water culture system. The nutrient solution is held in a separate tank and pumped into the aggregate tank to moisten the roots as needed. After the aggregate has been flooded it is drained to provide aeration. Enough water and nutrients cling to the aggregate and roots to supply the plant until the next flooding

The solution is generally pumped to within 1 inch of the surface and then allowed to drain. If the top surface of the bed is kept dry, the growth of algae will be minimal. To allow rapid drainage, the aggregate must be coarse. Use sand with particles of at least 1/16-inch diameter or gravel of about 1/4- to 3/8-inch diameter. The best aggregates are silica gravel, granite, basalt, or smooth river-bottom rock of the inert type that contains no calcium. Larger aggregates will require more frequent flooding, whereas smaller aggregates will not drain properly. In small, experimental units you may use any of several different substances. Perlite, Styrofoam, and crushed marbles have all been used successfully by hobbyists.

The aggregate should be flooded for about 10 minutes and allowed to drain for no longer than 30 minutes.

4 Hydrophonics systems

HYDROPONIC SYSTEMS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1.Water Culture or Aquaculture
2.Aggregate Culture
3.Aeroponics
4.Continuous Flow Systems




--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


1. Water Culture or Aquaculture

The water culture method of hydroponics is the simplest to set up on a small scale. In this system the plant roots are totally immersed in a nutrient solution. The major disadvantages of this system are the large amount of water required per plant and the need to aerate the solution continuously.

The actual design of the system is limited only by the imagination of the builder. The system must provide means to (1) support the plant above the solution, (2) aerate the solution, and (3) prevent light from reaching the solution (to prevent the growth of algae).

A standard tray or tank is shown in Figure 1. The tray may be made of concrete or of plastic-lined or asphalt-sealed wood. If you use asphalt to seal the tank, be sure that it does not contain creosote or tars. Do not use asphalt that leaves an oil film on the surface of the water. A typical size is 6 to 12 inches deep, 2 to 3 feet wide, and as long as is convenient. The plants can be supported by inserting them through holes drilled in a plywood top or through holes punched in a l-inch-thick Styrofoam sheet that floats on the surface of the solution.

You can make a small system from a child's wading pool, a plastic pail, a fish tank, or a drinking tumbler. A large tomato plant should be grown in a container that holds at least 2 gallons as the solution in a smaller container will be used up too quickly. Lettuce plants, on the other hand, may be grown in smaller containers.


Short plants such as lettuce and spinach will usually support themselves. Drill a 1-inch hole in the Styrofoam or wooden cover and insert a transplant. The plant may be held in place by packing a flexible material such as cotton into the hole around the stem. A plant started in sand, perlite, or vermiculite can be transplanted easily to the water culture system because these materials can be washed from the roots readily.


Vining plants such as cucumbers and tomatoes must be supported by string. When pruned to a single stem they can be wrapped around a loosely hung string as they grow (Figure 2).
Aerate the solution continuously by pumping air through a perforated hose or pipe immersed in the solution. For small systems an aquarium pump and porous stone will work. Do not bubble the solution too vigorously because excessive movement may damage the tender roots and impair plant growth.

Change the nutrient solution every two weeks when the plants are small and once a week as they begin to mature. Add water daily to keep the solution level constant.

What is hydrophonics?





Hydroponics from the Greek 'water working', is simply growing plants without soil. (Hydro=water and Ponic=working)

Hydroponics may also be called 'controlled environmental agriculture'.

In a complete controlled environmental agriculture system you control:
light, temperature, water, CO2, oxygen, pH and nutrients

A Hydroponic Garden is low maintenance and efficient. Every other day a pH check is done and water level topped up. Nutrient is changed every 7 - 12 days. A timer is recommended to automatically turn the light and garden on and off.

Tips Propagating Seeds

optimum temperature 75 degree F to 85 degrees F
optimum humidity 80% to 90% Relative
remove humidity tent daily
24 hours light until first true leaves appear
then remove humidity tent, 18 hours of light/day
use only diluted nutrient on seedlings
seed soak-foliar feed-Superthrive BI harden -off, increases light and nutrient levels gradually
foliar feed nitrozyme for 3-5 day harden off period
bolting-increase light intensity and/or ventilation
yellow leaves-increase vegetative nutrient strength

Tips Propagating Stem Cuttings

use 6" humidity dome
18 hours light/day
rooting hormones-Wilson roots, Stim Roots, Willow water
remove largest leaves to avoid wilting
remove tent permanently after 10 days
damping off fungi-better air circulation,and/or treat with damp off
browning leaf tips-to much nutrient.

Thursday 12 June 2008

In my opinion ...

Hello..listen..the future leader is speaking ...ehem..listen to his opinion shhhh..

Opss...cut..cut camera cut



This is one of the activities done in English Language Class. They did perfectly well before the shot was taken. But, oh well..they were just camera shy he he he. Anyway, what an act...bravo..bravo.

Monday vs Friday

Monday 9 June 2008

The Amazing Twins







A mixed-race British mom gave birth to twins recently

one of each.

No, not a boy and a girl.


Two girls - one black, the other white.

The odds of such a birth are about a million to one,

experts said .

Sleep: A Necessity, Not A Luxury

To learn more, visit this website


SUNDAY, June 8 (HealthDay News) -- The pace of life gets faster and faster, and people try to cram more and more into every minute of the day.
As things get more hectic, sleep tends to get short shrift. It's seen as wasted time, lost forever.
"For healthy people, there's a big temptation to voluntarily restrict sleep, to stay up an hour or two or get up an hour or two earlier," said Dr. Greg Belenky, director of the Sleep and Performance Research Center at Washington State University Spokane.
"But you're really reducing your productivity and exposing yourself to risk," Belenky added.
That's a message doctors are trying to spread to Americans, including the estimated 40 million people who struggle with some type of sleep disorder each year.
Before Thomas Edison invented the light bulb in 1880, people slept an average of 10 hours a night. These days, Americans average 6.9 hours of sleep on weeknights and 7.5 hours a night on weekends, according to the National Sleep Foundation.


"The group of people getting optimal sleep is getting smaller and smaller," said Dr. Chris Drake, senior scientist at the Henry Ford Hospital Sleep Disorders and Research Center in Detroit. "When a person's sleep drops to six hours or less, that's when a lot of things become very problematic."

While experts recommend seven to eight hours of sleep each night, the amount needed for an individual can vary.But lack of sleep affects a person in one of two ways, Belenky said. First, sleeplessness influences the day-to-day performance of tasks.

"The performance effects are seen immediately," he said. "You short-change yourself of sleep, and you see the effects immediately. You can make a bad decision. You can miss something. Have a moment's inattention, and you're off the road."

The longer-term effects of sleep deprivation involve a person's health. Doctors have linked lack of sleep to weight gain, diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems, depression and substance abuse.

"Hormones that process appetite begin to get disorganized," said Drake, who's also an assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral neuroscience at the Wayne State University School of Medicine. There's a decrease in the amount of leptin, an appetite-suppressing hormone, when a person gets too little sleep. At the same time, ghrelin -- a hormone that stimulates appetite -- increases with a lack of sleep.

Too little sleep also interferes with the body's ability to regulate glucose and can cause inflammation leading to heart problems and a rise in blood pressure. "There's a stress response to being in a sleep loss," Belenky said.


The types of people not getting enough sleep also break down into two groups. First, there are those who make the conscious choice to go without enough sleep.


"It's sort of part of the culture," Belenky said. "People pride themselves on getting little sleep. You'll hear people bragging, 'I only need six hours a night.' So there's a macho element here."


On the other hand, there are people who are suffering from sleep disorders. These disorders include:

Insomnia, an inability to go to sleep or stay asleep.
Sleep apnea, or breathing interruptions during sleep that cause people to wake up repeatedly.
Restless legs syndrome, a tingling or prickly sensation in the legs that causes a person to need to move them, interrupting sleep.

Someone suffering from any of these problems should visit their doctor or see a sleep specialist, Belenky said.


Sleep apnea, the most prevalent sleep disorder, can have particularly serious long-term effects if left untreated. "You're waking up out of sleep to breathe. You can't sleep and breathe at the same time," Drake said. "It's a risk factor for developing major cardiovascular health effects."

Some people who have trouble sleeping will resort to mild sedatives like Ambien and Lunesta.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently asked the makers of these sedative-hypnotic drugs to strengthen their warning labels. This action followed reports of dangerous allergic reactions, as well as a host of bizarre behavioral side effects that include sleep-driving, making phone calls, and preparing and eating food or having sex while asleep.

Drake and Belenky both consider sleeping pills to be fine for the short term if taken properly.

"Sleeping pills are a temporary solution," Belenky said. "If you're upset about something or have situational insomnia, or you're trying to sleep at the wrong time of day because you've traveled across time zones, they are effective."

But, both doctors noted the pills will do nothing to help a chronic sleep problem. "They don't address the pathology of their sleeplessness," Drake said.

The U.S. National Institutes of Health offers these tips for getting a good night's sleep:

Stick to a regular sleep schedule.
Avoid exercising closer than five or six hours before bedtime.
Avoid caffeine, nicotine and alcohol before bed.
Avoid large meals and beverages late at night.
Don't take naps after 3 p.m.
Relax before bed, taking time to unwind with a hot bath, a good book or soothing music.
If you're still awake after more than 20 minutes in bed, get up and do something relaxing until you feel sleepy. Anxiety over not being able to sleep can make it harder to fall asleep.
More information

A story about Shay - the disabled child

A good read!


What would you do?....you make the choice. Don't look for a punch line,
> there isn't one. Read it anyway. My question is: Would you have made the
> same choice?
>
> At a fundraising dinner for a school that serves learning-disabled
> children, the father of one of the students delivered a speech that would
> never be forgotten by all who attended. After extolling the school and its
> dedicated staff, he offered a question: 'When not interfered with by
> outside influences, everything nature does is done with perfection. Yet my
> son, Shay, cannot learn things as other children do. He cannot understand
> things as other children do. Where is the natural order of things in my
> son?'
> The audience was stilled by the query.
>
> The father continued. 'I believe, th at when a child like Shay, physically
> and mentally handicapped comes into the world, an opportunity to realize
> true human nature presents itself, and it comes in the way other people
> treat that child.'
>
> Then he told the following story:
>
> Shay and his father had walked past a park where some boys Shay knew were
> playing baseball. Shay asked, 'Do you think they'll let me play?' Shay's
> father knew that most of the boys would not want someone like Shay on
> their team, but the father also understood that if his son were allowed to
> play, it would give him a much-needed sense of belonging and some
> confidence to be accepted by others in spite of his handicaps.
>
> Shay's father approached one of the boys on the field and asked (not
> expecting much) if Shay could play. The boy looked around for guidance and
> said, 'We're losing by six runs and the game is in the eighth inning. I
> guess he can be on our team and we'll try to put him in to bat in the
> ninth inning.'
>
> S hay struggled over to the team's bench and, with a broad smile, put on a
> team shirt. His Father watched with a small tear in his eye and warmth in
> his heart. The boys saw the father's joy at his son being accepted. In the
> bottom of the eighth inning, Shay's team scored a few runs but was still
> behind by three. In the top of the ninth inning, Shay put on a glove and
> played in the right field. Even though no hits came his way, he was
> obviously ecstatic just to be in the game and on the field, grinning from
> ear to ear as his father waved to him from the stands. In the bottom of
> the ninth inning, Shay's team scored again. Now, with two outs and the
> bases loaded, the potential winning run was on base and Shay was scheduled
> to be next at bat.
>
> At this juncture, do they let Shay bat and give away their chance to win
> the game? Surprisingly, Shay was given the bat. Everyone knew that a hit
> was all but impossible because Shay didn't even know how to hold the bat
> properly, much less connect with the ball.
>
> However, as Shay stepped up to the plate, the pitcher, recognizing that
> the other team was putting winning aside for this moment in Shay's life,
> moved in a few steps to lob the ball in softly so Shay could at least make
> contact. The first pitch came and Shay swung clumsily and missed. The
> pitcher again took a few steps forward to toss the ball softly towards
> Shay. As the pitch came in, Shay swung at the ball and hit a slow ground
> ball right back to the pitcher.
>
> Th e game would now be over. The pit cher picked up the soft grounder and
> could have easily thrown the ball to the first baseman. Shay would have
> been out and that would have been the end of the game.
>
> Instead, the pitcher threw the ball right over the first baseman's head,
> out of reach of all team mates. Everyone from the stands and both teams
> started yelling, 'Shay, run to first! Run to first!' Never in his life had
> Shay ever run that far, but he made it to first base. He scampered down
> the baseline, wide-eyed and startled.
>
> Everyone yelled, 'Run to second, run to second!' Catching his breath, Shay
> awkwardly ran towards second, gleaming and struggling to make it to the
> base. By the time Shay rounded towards second base, the right fielder had
> the ball ... the smallest guy on their team who now had his first chance
> to be the hero for his team. He could have thrown the ball to the
> second-baseman for the tag, but he understood the pitcher's intentions so
> he, too, intent iona lly threw the ball high and far ov er the
> third-baseman's head. Shay ran toward third base deliriously as the
> runners ahead of him circled the bases toward home.
>
> All were screaming, 'Shay, Shay, Shay, all the Way Shay'
>
> Shay reached third base because the opposing shortstop ran to help him by
> turning him in the direction of third base, and shouted, 'Run to third!
> Shay, run to third!'
>
> As Shay rounded third, the boys from both teams, and the spectators, were
> on their feet screaming, 'Shay, run home! Run home!' Shay ran to home,
> stepped on the plate, and was cheered as the hero who hit the grand slam
> and won the game for his team.
>
> 'That day', said the father softly with tears now rolling down his face,
> 'the boys from both teams helped bring a piece of true love and humani ty
> in to this world'.
>
> Shay didn't make it to another summer. He died that winter, having never
> forgotten being the hero and making his father so happy, and coming home
> and seeing his Mother tearfully embrace her little hero of the day!
>
> AND NOW A LITTLE FOOTNOTE TO THIS STORY: We all send thousands of jokes
> through the e-mail without a second thought, but when it comes to sending
> messages about life choices, people hesitate. The crude, vulgar, and often
> obscene pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion about
> decency is too often suppressed in our schools and workplaces.
>
> If you're thinking about forwarding this message, chances are that you're
> probably sorting out the people in your address book who aren't the
> 'appropriate' ones to receive this type of message. Well, the person who
> sent you this believes that we all can make a difference. We all have
> thousands of opportunities every single day to help realize the 'natural
> order of things.' So many s eeming ly trivial interactions between two
> people present us with a choice: Do we pass alo ng a little spark of love
> and humanity or do we pass up those opportunities and leave the world a
> little bit colder in the process?
>
> A wise man once said every society is judged by how it treats it's least
> fortunate amongst them.
>
> You now have two choices:
> 1. Delete
> 2. Forward
> May your day be a Shay Day
>
> Be a lamp, or a lifeboat, or a ladder. Help someone's soul heal. Walk
> out of your house like a shepherd. -Jalaluddin Rumi, poet and mystic
> (1207-1273)

Sunday 8 June 2008

Jimmy Neutron : The Genius Cartoon Character


Yuhuu...Jimmy Neutron anyone ?? Click me.

Homeschool is the solution for the geniuses???

Just an opinion....click me

Genius: The Neurobiology of Giftedness

Time to explore........Click me

Thinking like a genius

"Even if you're not a genius, you can use the same strategies as Aristotle and Einstein to harness the power of your creative mind and better manage your future."

The following eight strategies encourage you to think productively,
rather than reproductively, in order to arrive at solutions to problems. "These strategies are common to the thinking styles of creative geniuses in science, art, and industry throughout history."

1. Look at problems in many different ways, and find new perspectives that no one else has taken (or no one else has publicized!)

Leonardo da Vinci believed that, to gain knowledge about the form of a problem, you begin by learning how to restructure it in many different ways. He felt that the first way he looked at a problem was too biased. Often, the problem itself is reconstructed and becomes a new one.

2. Visualize!

When Einstein thought through a problem, he always found it necessary to formulate his subject in as many different ways as possible, including using diagrams. He visualized solutions, and believed that words and numbers as such did not play a significant role in his thinking process.

3. Produce! A distinguishing characteristic of genius is productivity.

Thomas Edison held 1,093 patents. He guaranteed productivity by giving himself and his assistants idea quotas. In a study of 2,036 scientists throughout history, Dean Keith Simonton of the University of California at Davis found that the most respected scientists produced not only great works, but also many "bad" ones. They weren't afraid to fail, or to produce mediocre in order to arrive at excellence.

4. Make novel combinations. Combine, and recombine, ideas, images, and thoughts into different combinations no matter how incongruent or unusual.

The laws of heredity on which the modern science of genetics is based came from the Austrian monk Grego Mendel, who combined mathematics and biology to create a new science.

5. Form relationships; make connections between dissimilar subjects.

Da Vinci forced a relationship between the sound of a bell and a stone hitting water. This enabled him to make the connection that sound travels in waves. Samuel Morse invented relay stations for telegraphic signals when observing relay stations for horses.

6. Think in opposites.

Physicist Niels Bohr believed, that if you held opposites together, then you suspend your thought, and your mind moves to a new level. His ability to imagine light as both a particle and a wave led to his conception of the principle of complementarity. Suspending thought (logic) may allow your mind to create a new form.

7. Think metaphorically.

Aristotle considered metaphor a sign of genius, and believed that the individual who had the capacity to perceive resemblances between two separate areas of existence and link them together was a person of special gifts.

8. Prepare yourself for chance.

Whenever we attempt to do something and fail, we end up doing something else. That is the first principle of creative accident. Failure can be productive only if we do not focus on it as an unproductive result. Instead: analyze the process, its components, and how you can change them, to arrive at other results. Do not ask the question "Why have I failed?", but rather "What have I done?"

The effect of school on the genius mind

Article 1

The education system in America for example is designed to provide instruction for the average student. The concept behind this idea is that every student should graduate with what they need to know to survive the world in terms of math, science, language, and history. The instructional material is tailored so that students in the average range intellectually should receive a challenge.

The problem with this plan is that only 95% of students fall into the "average" intellect category. The other 5% have an IQ at one extreme end of the scale - either highly intelligent, or highly retarded. For the latter group, schools have long had special classes and slower instruction, for students can be held back if they do not learn enough, so that they repeat a grade and get a second shot at it. For the other group, however, schools are woefully unprepared to meet their educational needs.

Geniuses are occasionally offered one "gifted class" they can go to which allows them to study other topics of more interest, but these classes tend to meet infrequently. Some school systems will offer to let a student "skip" a grade - move directly into the 9th grade from the 7th grade, for instance - but many schools will not for fear of having a student miss out on proper socializing. Skipping causes another problem, in that if the gifted student had anything left unlearned in the skipped grade, he or she wouldn't have all the knowledge they need to succeed in the new one. Finally, only those students who are already hard workers will be blessed with the chance to skip a grade, because those students who are not hard workers but who are still geniuses won't have the grades high enough to prove that they need a more advanced level of study.

The problem all of this ultimately generates is that the minds of geniuses are allowed to slowly waste away in twelve years of school. By the time a genius graduates, he or she has had little if any kind of challenge, and has taken to simply breezing through school on his or her amazing intellect. For a genius, learning new facts is something that takes only one session in class, and no homework. Homework becomes a hassle and a bore, so the genius usually will skip it in favor of simply taking the test, passing it, and getting a grade in the class that is just barely above average.

And thus, the genius becomes lazy.

Without the proper kinds of challenge, the genius will go on to college and pick something rediculously difficult for the average person (such as nuclear chemistry or astrophysics) and still approach the class in the same way as before - attending class but not doing the homework. If the class is too difficult, the genius will find himself (or herself) unable to keep up with the work load and will eventually drop out. If the genius is driven to get a degree, the genius will pick something much easier on the next attempt, and thereby slide through college the same way he or she slid through high school.

This will carry over into life as well. The genius will become the dreamer - always thinking of grand ideas, but lacking the willpower to implement them.

How can I prove this? 1 out of every 2000 people you meet is a genius. How many of them do you hear about on a daily basis? Stephen Hawking is the world's only current recognized genius who is also out there making new and fantastic ideas and discoveries all the time. Every once in a while, another genius will be spoken of who has invented a number of products, but in every one of these cases, the genius was already fairly well off financially and was able to personally fund (or easily obtain backing for) these special projects. But, with 1/2000th of the population being a genius, we should have 150,000 geniuses in the U.S. alone who are constantly doing great, amazing things.

Truth is that we do have that many geniuses in the U.S., but we don't recognize them. As one of my college professors told me, "you can't be a genius, because geniuses wouldn't be going to school here." That's the stigma in our society, but if a genius isn't driven to succeed, how would the genius get into schools like M.I.T., Berkeley, etc? They wouldn't, so they go to schools like Tulsa Community College.

So, enough complaining, and on to the solution. The genius mind doesn't need to skip a grade, because of the chance of missing some key data. What the genius mind needs instead is fast-paced instruction. Classes for geniuses should be set up so that students are learning material twice as fast as in normal classes - when a topic is taught, the teacher moves on with another topic and doesn't linger. The genius mind will get it anyway, and won't need an hour's worth of reiteration. In this way, the genius mind will be challenged, and the genius will not grow up to be a lazy bum. Once we have a nice core group of geniuses, the technology level in this country should grow by leaps and bounds.

But it'll never happen...

What happened to this genius 3?

ARTICLE 3
Posted on March 24, 2006 by The Eternal Wanderer

For those who've read today's The Star article, Genius Finds School Boring, on our very own child prodigy and Maths genius, 7 year old Adi Putra, the fact that the boy finds the public school system boring is a testament of our government's inability to provide holistic education for not only someone of Adi's standards, but also to other students as well.
Of course, bearing in mind that Adi's present school is obviously at a lost of how to manage a child who is far advanced compared to his peers, the school had no choice but to continue teaching the standard curriculum for Primary One students. The teachers, unfortunately, cannot give Adi special treatment as that ill not sit well with his other classmates and by giving him preferential treatment, it will also make him an outcast among his peers who would become jealous of the special treatment.
The simple solution to this is simply for Adi to not go to school, after all, what's there for him to learn in public school when he can already read a newspaper at the age of three and solve Add Maths problems by age 6.
I totally understand why Adi feels bored and decided to cut classes. The Primary One curriculum is basically something like kindergarten all over again, where students are drilled on writing, reading and calculation, all of which Adi has already mastered. There is nothing new to offer Adi in the curriculum or lessons, so why stay in school. The parents of Adi did the right thing by complying with his wishes to not go to school and I salute the boy for wanting to go to a school that gives him a more holistic education and a better learning environment.
Still, what the school did, which is to threaten to expel him, could have been done with a bit more tact. It is obvious that the school's action in issuing show cause letters to the boy and his parents, warning him that if he does not show up in school, he will be expelled, was done with little tolerance and understanding of Adi's predicament. I normally equate expellation with students with serious discipline problems and Adi is certainly not a boy with discipline problems. But the label would stick and he will have to live with the memory that he has been threatened with expulsion.
Did the school ever gave a thought to how Adi might feel and how his peers in school will think of him? Obviously not. All the school cares for is its policy to ensure that students attend classes. Anyone who does not is a problematic child. Thus, will be expelled. The school never thinks about the child's feelings. To them, that's secondary when it comes to doing their duty to uphold school rules and poilicies.
What the government should do, and if they are really serious and concerned for Adi's welfare and education, is to let the boy enrol in the Islamic International School here in KL, or any other private school that is better suited and prepared to manage a genius child like Adi. The most important thing here is not only to nurture his abilities so that he will not be one day burnt out like many other geniuses around the world, but also to build him up in other skills, not just Maths. He has expressed interest to learn other languages, and should be encouraged to do so.
Nurtured and taught the right way, we can expect great things from this boy in the future. But until then, it is also important that the glare of the media and attention be diverted away from him. He's still first and foremost a child and should not be exposed to such pressures. He should be allowed to enjoy the things every normal child enjoys. Every child have their right to have a normal childhood, to experience everything a normal child should experience, regardless of whether he's a genius or not.
True, expectations on him will be high in the future. but with proper care in his upbringing, I do not see how Adi will not become one of Malaysia's outstanding personality in the future.
For now, let's give the kid a break he so needs and deserves.

What happened to this genius 2?

ARTICLE 2

SHE was a child maths genius who won a place at Oxford University aged just 13—but now the only sums Sufiah Yusof is interested in are the ones she earns as a HOOKER.
For sad Sufiah the daily equation she has to solve is simply sex equals £130 as she sells her body to punters over the internet.
The gifted girl with the winning smile had the world at her feet ten years ago and should be a rich woman by now—but last week she was busy subtracting her underwear for our undercover reporter in her dingy back street flat.
“Would you like to start your half hour now?” said Sufiah, 23, as she danced on the bed, displaying her body for examination.
Then she listed all the sleazy plus points she would throw in for our man if he took up her offer.
Calling herself Shilpa Lee, the former child prodigy still juggles with figures on a hookers’ website, describing herself as a “very pretty size 8, 32D bust and 5′5″ tall—available for booking every day from 11am to 8pm.”
She says she is a “sexy, smart student” who prefers “older gentlemen”— but a former pal who has witnessed her downfall told us: “It is all desperately heartbreaking.
“With her amazing brain she should be able to make money any way she wants. But instead her life has spiralled completely out of control.”
Life has never quite added up for Sufiah. Her descent into prostitution in Salford, Manchester, is the latest in a long line of tragedies to have engulfed her since the sunny day when she posed with her university mortar board for the world’s press outside prestigious St Hilda’s College.
Our shock revelations today come in the week her domineering dad Farooq was jailed for sexually assaulting two 15-year-old girls as he home-tutored them in maths.
And he was always at the root of all her troubles— even as she passed the further maths A-Level she needed for entry to Oxford at the age of 12. In those days Sufia was a strict Muslim child who prayed five times a day and was subjected to her father’s famous Accelerated Learning Technique.
Her days involved stretching and breathing exercises in freezing rooms to keep her brain attentive.
Sufiah would then study hard and be forced to play tennis with just as much intensity as fanatical Farooq drove her on. The routine was so effective Sufiah was seeded number eight in the country for under 21s.
But three years into Oxford, the 15-year-old sparked a massive police hunt after running away.

Abuse

At the time her father bizarrely claimed Sufiah had been kidnapped and brainwashed by an organisation seeking the key to her intelligence.
But Sufiah sent an email to her family describing her life under her father as a “living hell”.
One message to her sister read: “I’ve finally had enough of 15 years of physical and emotional abuse. You know what I am talking about.”
Sufiah was missing for two weeks before being found in an internet café in Bournemouth where she had been working as a hotel waitress.
She refused to go back to her parents and instead was taken into the care of social services.
It was then revealed that Farooq had been jailed for three years in 1992 for his part in a £1.5m mortgage swindle. Before that—at the age of 19—he had been sent to borstal for his role in a conspiracy involving £100,000.
Free from the spell of her father, Sufiah returned to Oxford to complete the final year of her Masters in Maths.
But she was now more concerned with enjoying herself—and failed to finish the course after meeting trainee lawyer Jonathan Marshall.
They were married in 2004 when Sufiah was just 19 and Jonathan 24. But the strains with her family were still there.
Despite being invited, Sufiah’s parents and four brothers and sisters failed to turn up to the wedding.
Her dreams of a happy life with Jonathan were shattered when the couple divorced just a year later.
Now, in her sad little flat, she uses her body to pay the rent. Sufiah met our man, posing as a punter, at the entrance to her building wearing a tiny skirt, leather boots and a tight t-shirt. She was carrying three mobile phones.
She laughed and joked as she led him to her small apartment where a bed was already set out in the lounge.
She told him it was £130 an hour and offered him a glass of water before putting some music on to a cheap portable stereo and nervously stripping down to her red lace bra and knickers.
Sufiah then peeled off her underwear and danced on the bed. She told him she did full sex with a condom and oral sex without protection.
After our man had made his excuses, Sufiah kept him talking by telling him how she was studying for a Masters degree in Economics on a part-time two year course in London.
The former prodigy added: “I’ve got exams coming up and I’m thinking ‘Oh my God!’”
Once described by her parents as “naïve and unstreetwise”, she works alone from her flat without any obvious physical security or protection.
She even admitted to our reporter: “It’s always a surprise who you are going to meet.”
Cheerful Sufiah gave no indication of any sadness at the jailing of her father the previous day. On Wednesday Farooq, 50, was sentenced to 18 months at Coventry Crown Court for touching two 15-year-old girls when he was home tutoring them at maths.
The court heard how in May last year Farooq arrived at one of the victim’s home for a maths lesson.

Destroyed

Farooq’s defence lawyer Tim Hannam said: “He’s been back in prison for over five months and knows there’ll be no more teaching and any hope he had of gaining an income from the teaching method he had developed to a high degree of success is lost to him. His reputation is destroyed.”
Now it’s clear the daughter who fled his strict regime has almost been destroyed too.
Her friend said last night: “Sufiah has suffered so many knocks in her life. I just hope she can drag herself out this life she has got herself into.
“She is a good person and deserves a much better life than this. Her gift really has been a curse.

What happened to this genius 1?

ARTICLE 1
The Star, Monday January 8, 2007--(SEREMBAN): Chiang Ti Ming, the boy genius who was the youngest student ever to be admitted into the prestigious California Institute of Technology (CalTech) almost two decades ago, has passed away on Saturday morning. “He passed away peacefully,” said a family member yesterday.

The family declined to reveal other details while Chiang’s parents, father Chiang Chick Liam and mother Lee Soo Hoon, were too distraught to talk to the press.

Only his family members were seen entering the house here yesterday afternoon and requested that privacy be given to them.

Press reports in 2002 said that he had been admitted into a hospital in Kuala Lumpur, for depression and withdrawal symptoms. The family also suffered a tragic loss when his sister Eei Wern, drowned at the swimming pool of the Seremban International Golf Club in 1993. Eei Wern was then four.
It was reported 16 years ago that Chiang, who was 15 at the time, was not only the youngest student to be admitted into CalTech but also among the top five percent where his results were concerned.

Chiang had achieved many firsts while at CalTech, including being the youngest ever student to receive the Undergraduate Students Merit Award two years in a row.

He was also an honorary member of the Tau Beta Phi, a national engineering society.

He had been accepted to study for the second year of the four-year Physics degree course at the university in 1989 when he was 13 after sponsorship from several organisations.

The prodigy later pursued and graduated with a doctorate in particle physics at Cornell University in New York.

Genius Dilemma 4

Is this real?

Genius Dilemma 3

Funny isn't it?

Genius Dilemma 2

Genius Dilemma 1

What is a genius ?

Is genius a gift or is it developed?

What can I do to enhance my brain power ?
Learn more about your own brain’s function:
• How do you process information?
• How do you store information?
• What are your own internal processes?
• What makes you remember?
• When are you at your most creative?
• How did you learn so well as child?

As Albert Eistein said....

Intellectuals solve problems;
Geniuses prevent them.

Collection of Body Facts

1.. Scientists say the higher your I.Q. The more you dream.

2.. The largest cell in the human body is the female egg.

3.. The smallest is the male sperm.

4.. You use 200 muscles to take one step.

5.. The average woman is 5 inches shorter than the average man.

6.. Your big toes have two bones each while the rest have three.

7.. A pair of human feet contain 250,000 sweat glands.

8.. A full bladder is roughly the size of a soft ball.

9.. The acid in your stomach is strong enough to dissolve razor blades.

10.. The human brain cell can hold 5 times as much information as the Encyclopedia Britannica.

11.. It takes the food seven seconds to get from your mouth to your stomach.

12.. The average human dream lasts 2-3 seconds.

13.. Men without hair on their chests are more likely to get cirrhosis of the liver than men with hair.

14.. At the moment of conception, you spent about half an hour as a single cell.

15.. There is about one trillion bacteria on each of your feet.

16.. Your body gives off enough heat in 30 minutes to bring half a gallon of water to a boil.

17.. The enamel in your teeth is the hardest substance in your body.

18.. Your teeth start developing (in your gums) 6 months before you are born.

19.. When you are looking at someone you love, your pupils dilate, they do the same when you are looking at someone you hate.

20.. Blondes have more hair than dark-haired people.

21.. Your thumb is the same length as your nose.

22.. At this very moment I know full well you are putting this last fact to the test ... now remove your thumb from your nose and pass this on to the friends you think might be interested in comparing their thumbs to their noses as well. You did it -- I KNOW you did !!!!! He..he..he....GOTCHA

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