From the monthly archives:

May 2010

On Jargon

May 23, 2010

Jargon. It’s the ultimate hiding place. Usually, if you’re using jargon to talk about something, you’re very likely coating a very small piece of meat in a thick layer of batter. The ACME Plunger Corporation exists to synergize air pressure and human force to facilitate and champion the clearing of all manner of pipes, passageways, [...]

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The Achievement Dilemma

May 19, 2010

In a 2010 TED talk, game designer Jane McGonigal remarks that “We are optimized as human beings to do hard, meaningful work.” I repeat: humans are optimized for hard, meaningful work. In fact, McGonigal points out that gamers are very likely committed so deeply to gaming because they experience a sense of “blissful productivity,” that [...]

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My Brother’s Toasted Wrap: an Intro To “Quality”

May 17, 2010

The other day I received a message on my iPhone from my brother. It was a photo of what appeared to be a grilled burrito. “Professional. You can’t buy wraps that look and taste as good,” the caption read. This was quickly followed by an end-on shot of the meal. “Do you see that tuck?” [...]

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Jazz and Fundamentals, Part 3: Improvisation

May 15, 2010

You’ve got to learn your instrument. Then, you practice, practice, practice. And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail. —Charlie Parker It’s often suggested that, with the evolution of technology and accessibility of information, we don’t really need to memorize fundamentals anymore. Why not outsource them? [...]

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Fundamentals and Jazz, Part 2: Connection

May 12, 2010

Making the simple complicated is commonplace; making the complicated simple, awesomely simple, that’s creativity. —Charles Mingus I love that: “Making the simple complicated is commonplace.” This gets me every time I read it because it’s so easy to think of jazz as really really complicated versions of simple songs. Isn’t that so? One might think [...]

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Fundamentals and Jazz, Part 1: Discipline

May 11, 2010

I’m into scales right now. —John Coltrane Fundamentals are the launching pad for expertise. Every field has them: they’re pieces of knowledge and practicable skills without which one cannot excel in a particular discipline. They’re conjugated verbs, times tables, and heavy machinery operating procedures. Most of us groan when think about teaching them or learning [...]

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Creativity: What Is It, Anyway?

May 7, 2010

People talk about creativity in all sorts of contexts—it’s used in reference to everything from ”scrap booking” to advertising, sculpture to physics, writing to teaching. We know the value of creativity. We know its fruit when we see it. But we’re so loose with our application of the word that sometimes I wonder if we [...]

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When Are They Ever Gonna Use This?

May 5, 2010

It’s so typical. People joke about the old algebra problem about two trains heading from two different stations at different speeds and figuring out how long it takes for them to collide. Or there’s the question about Farmer Jake, who has forty more sheep than Farmer Bill; if Farmer Jake gives half his sheep to [...]

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Testing: Use The Opportunity

May 2, 2010

People get mad about tests. We fight about their fairness, content, and relevance. I applaud those who devote their careers to creating tests that create parity (with varying success) among students. It’s tough. I don’t want the job. Nevertheless, while different tests come and go, they aren’t going away. I say, if tests are a fact [...]

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