Serendipity and Learning

One of the latest apps to have caught the little ones fancy is ‘Tiny Troopers’ where a triad of soldiers have to keep plodding through combat missions.  As they complete each mission, they make money and collect medals which they can use only for the very next mission – the coins and the resources are consumed - and the missions are built in a way that you will generally end up spending what you earned.  And if the mission fails, they have to ‘buy’ the resources again. The only way to do that is (especially if your stingy dad refuses to buy medals and equipment and what not random virtual items) – is to play in the lower levels, make money and use it in the mission you want it for. Recently, I saw him plod diligently through yet another mission. I asked him what is he upto playing on it since in the last mission, he was beaten black and blue. He replied, “I am working in the lower level to make money and then I will buy a flame thrower and win the next mis...

As I read "The Most Powerful Idea in the World" by William Rosen, I had a bunch of thoughts (as you may have guessed, this is the 3rd post after reading the book). The first is of course that science as we learn in schools and colleges is mostly a linear narrative. Somebody worked on something, they invented it. Of course, narratives are not as simple as that - there are problems, opportunities, passions, networks, geniuses, unsung assistants and unglorified tries along the way, until it all falls in place. The fact that we miss the story behind the invention or the discovery is actually an exponential degree of enthusiasm lost. In reading a linear narrative, any reader is hardly ever going to be inspired. Perhaps knowing the story and the person behind the science or the invention or the discovery is as useful as learning the fact of the matter.  Perhaps the history of technologies needs to be an important course in any engineering or science syllabus. And perhaps it i...

The above titled book by William Rosen (and I am still reading it) has set me thinking. As it goes through the industrial revolution (rather, the beginning of it) - it explores as to why the industrial revolution happened when it happened. Rather, how a lot of factors came to play in making it happen. For that alone this book is worth a read. It is worth reading how a 'dotcom' kind of ecosystem existed in England with the combination of tinkerers, rich patrons, correspondence and of course, the right kind of institutions. When one studies engineering, or even science, what we hear are the rock star stories. For instance, we know that Archimedes had a 'Eureka' moment. Likewise, in this book, I realized how a 'Eureka' moment helped James Watt resolve the problematic steam engine into a workable design. While it is very romantic to believe that discoveries happen accidentally, the fact remains that somebody like a James Watt (or others) slogged through many man...

I have been reading 'The Most Powerful Idea in the World' by William Rosen - with much interest. Ever since I saw the book mentioned in Bill Gates annual letter to his trustees or something, I wanted to read it. The reading did not start in a promising way. And then came James Watt. And the story of the condenser in the steam engine. The story of how James Watt  while working on a steam engine finally figured out the condenser as an answer is worthy of thought. It is part science, part industriousness, part perseverance, part insight, part creativity and totally engrossing. It struck me that in college, when we studied about the steam engine - we had but a theoretical rendering of the steam engine in Thermodynamics. There was no story there. We learnt about the steam engine in a matter of fact way, with about as much passion as one would read a telephone directory, totally bereft of the history or the emotion behind it. Or the time. Or the effort. Or the passion of a few ...

As children spend time learning from digital methods - like playing games on the iPad or tablet etc., a moot question comes to mind. Are they learning? If so, how much and what? This really is a sequel to my post of yesterday where I figured how 'Subway Surfers' is making the little ones think about resources and resource allocation. They have a limited number of gold coins that they have accumulated by playing which can be used to 'buy' various things. Some of them useful, some useful, some worthwhile, some just embellishments. So, there are various temptations that are 'short term gains'. Should they go for the short term gains or wait for their 'long term goal'? The younger one is all for short term gains while the elder one wants to wait. And this is not the only game. In many games they have to try out a particular maneuver many times before they get it right. They need to wait and see a pattern before they jump into something. They need to try ...

Most of us who have smart phones would know of a game known as 'Subway Surfers'. And most of us would agree that it is a practically useless game. There is a random person running along the railway tracks collecting random stuff and paraphernalia. And to help the addiction thing continue, they helpfully change the 'city' and some associated graphics and 'stuff' and 'characters' every few weeks - just so. And that was my thought as well. Until I heard this conversation between the kids. "Don't waste money" said one to the other. My ears perked - did they figure out how to buy an app? Did they crack my password? And then I figured that they were talking about how to use the gold coins that they had collected in the game. "Dont buy the skateboard now. It is a waste of your money. Use a skateboard when you get the skateboard free. Use the coins for other things that will help you more." The conversation continued until one c...

How many of us get this request at work "I made something. Can you add some creativity to this?" How would you like it if you went to a restaurant and the chef said, "I made a dish, please add salt to it?" Yet that is how we expect it to work and think we are doing a great job of it. If our work life was a recipe and there was a salt equivalent to it - then creativity would be it. People would write the work recipe as "Add creativity to taste". Just the way they treat salt. Without salt, your dish would be bland, almost inedible in most cases. Also salt does some wonderful things - it does not just make your dish salty.It does wonderful things to food. The trick is when to add salt - you cannot always add it at the end and that is a technique in itself. Which is the same thing with creativity. Creativity is not an add-on. If it has not existed in the thought process, very unlikely that it will exist at the end when someone who has no clue about you...