Today smart people from top universities with PhDs get the best jobs in terms of money and satisfaction. This is not because the people are smart, but because the demand of smart people is high, they usually have a PhD and these guys just happens to be very rare.
Now if everyone can teach himself close to PhD level skills, the degree is not so valuable anymore. There could be a wave of inflation of smart people with a very high competition.
Aug 2 2012: so if employers find out that this online course produces smarter people than colleges, do you think they care about credit and certificates?
Jul 13 2012: You would need a lot of big robots. Solar powered always sounds nice, but you need a lot of rare materials to produce them and i don't think that solar modules produce enough energy unless we can copy the efficiency of photosynthesis...like in an synthetic organism. So robots may sound more familiar today (this has not always been the case) but could actually do more harm than an synthetic organism.
Jul 13 2012: That would be nice but is not going to happen. With every new technology there is always some kind of uncertainty (who thought of Chlorofluorocarbon or the housing bubble). Today in SynBio uncertainty is very big but it will get smaller.The question is if that is enough.
Jul 12 2012: Synthetic organisms can do some things we can't do in an other way and for some jobs like your project you would have to release them into the wild. Today this is not legal and this is fine, because we don't understand the technology well enough. Today the risks are very low but so are the benefits. This might change in the future, but until then, SynBio has to proof itself a lot in the lab and under safe conditions. We have to develop preventions mechanisms like predicting potential unintended reactions (this can and has to be done, in IT Security they don't test just if it works but also if it does something which was not intended under very rare circumstances), create a self controlling community which is aware of the risks and can act just in case, develop mechanisms to "remove" "buggy" organisms from our environment, talk to people who live in the environment we want to release GMOs and research how synthetic organisms combine with natural organisms. If we cannot do those kind of things I don't think it is responsible to release the organisms in the environment. But if we wait long enough the environmental problems will become so big that anybody with a solution will be a hero. Until then, we should have done our homework.
Jun 27 2012: Hi, like 1-4, but disagree with 5. If you have low expectations you cannot be disappointed. But in some cases high expectations can lead to amazing results for example when working with a team on a project.
Jun 27 2012: 1) Knowledge is fine, but useless without creativity. You need creativity to solve a problem and not only for arts. Creativity is something you have, but after years in school you loose it.
2) Our supply chain sucks. The way out products are made is very complex. It is difficult to see where the process starts, but usually it involves some kind of slavery (cotton, metals, diamonds, rare earth elements for smartphones.., production of devices (Playstation, iPod...in Foxconn ), which leads to number 3)
3) When you buy something you also approve it. By getting an iPod, shoes or diamonds you say "I think it is a good thing that you do it and how you do it, make more of them".
4) Good grades and status on paper are no primary goals. The primary goal is to make this earth a better place. However good grades and status make this a lot easier. For example if you develop some tech or solve a problem you get a PhD. This is nice but it is only half the way. You also have to make sure, that it is used to the benefit to those who need it. For example to clean up our supply chain (it is ok to use tech as a slave)
5) Talent is overrated. Good people are good at what they do because of practice (10 000 hours). That it does not feel like pain or work to them one could call talent.
Jun 26 2012: I am not a medical student, but I think the responsibility of a Doctor is very important topic.I think that a Doctor can not be personally held responsible for every mistake because in such an environment he will try not do admit any mistakes. If he does not admit them, others cannot learn from them so they will happen again. In a lot of cases mistakes are even not realized because the patient is passed to the next doctor. For plane accidents every country has a institution dealing with every single accident or close accident. (NTSB). There is a video series on youtube which then brings the human side back to the accident story: Example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyuSmPYF0YM
The Pilots can talk about it and the passengers profit from this practice. I think is is a major issue in medicine. However it is not as easy to do "the right thing".
Oct 7 2011: anyway i think that internet access exists even in poor areas. But the Internet does not address their problems.
There are places to learn math or quantum mechanics, but I am not aware of a place to learn how to grow food in a dry area or how to get a microcredit.
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A comment on Talk: Daphne Koller: What we're learning from online education
Today smart people from top universities with PhDs get the best jobs in terms of money and satisfaction. This is not because the people are smart, but because the demand of smart people is high, they usually have a PhD and these guys just happens to be very rare.
Now if everyone can teach himself close to PhD level skills, the degree is not so valuable anymore. There could be a wave of inflation of smart people with a very high competition.
A reply on Talk: Daphne Koller: What we're learning from online education
A reply on Conversation: Should Synthetic Organisms be released to clean plastic pollution from the ocean?
A reply on Conversation: Should Synthetic Organisms be released to clean plastic pollution from the ocean?
A comment on Conversation: Should Synthetic Organisms be released to clean plastic pollution from the ocean?
Somehow your project reminds me of Wall-E :D
A reply on Conversation: What are 5 things you have learned that has completely changed your life?
A comment on Conversation: What are 5 things you have learned that has completely changed your life?
2) Our supply chain sucks. The way out products are made is very complex. It is difficult to see where the process starts, but usually it involves some kind of slavery (cotton, metals, diamonds, rare earth elements for smartphones.., production of devices (Playstation, iPod...in Foxconn ), which leads to number 3)
3) When you buy something you also approve it. By getting an iPod, shoes or diamonds you say "I think it is a good thing that you do it and how you do it, make more of them".
4) Good grades and status on paper are no primary goals. The primary goal is to make this earth a better place. However good grades and status make this a lot easier. For example if you develop some tech or solve a problem you get a PhD. This is nice but it is only half the way. You also have to make sure, that it is used to the benefit to those who need it. For example to clean up our supply chain (it is ok to use tech as a slave)
5) Talent is overrated. Good people are good at what they do because of practice (10 000 hours). That it does not feel like pain or work to them one could call talent.
A comment on Conversation: Should medical ethics be taught in medical school?
The Pilots can talk about it and the passengers profit from this practice. I think is is a major issue in medicine. However it is not as easy to do "the right thing".
A reply on Conversation: Is the internet, not formal education, the new great equalizer?
There are places to learn math or quantum mechanics, but I am not aware of a place to learn how to grow food in a dry area or how to get a microcredit.
A reply on Conversation: Is the internet, not formal education, the new great equalizer?