Blog Smith is inspired by the myth of Hephaestus in the creation of blacksmith-like, forged materials: ideas. This blog analyzes topics that interest me: IT, politics, technology, history, education, music, and the history of religions.
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Monday, June 10, 2019
Teaching Games
Super Teacher Tools (lots of cool games)
https://www.superteachertools.us/
Brown University Interactive Games Page
https://www.brown.edu/about/administration/sheridan-center/teaching-learning/effective-classroom-practices/interactive-classroom-activities
Teacher Hub
http://www.teachhub.com/fun-review-activities-classroom-games-do-now
https://www.superteachertools.us/
Brown University Interactive Games Page
https://www.brown.edu/about/administration/sheridan-center/teaching-learning/effective-classroom-practices/interactive-classroom-activities
Teacher Hub
http://www.teachhub.com/fun-review-activities-classroom-games-do-now
Sunday, June 9, 2019
Ian Hunter, Interview, Songwriters Universe
Great Interview on the Songwriters Universe website
Really well researched interview. Some great questions:
http://www.songwriteruniverse.com/ian-h ... w-2017.htm
/ian-hunter-interview-2017
http://www.songwriteruniverse.com/ian-h ... w-2017.htm
/ian-hunter-interview-2017
Saturday, June 8, 2019
Friday, June 7, 2019
Thursday, June 6, 2019
Ian Hunter, Mott The Hoople, Glam Rock Special, Bob Williams
Glam Rock Special on radio New Years day
Now on mixcloud
https://www.mixcloud.com/bob-williams4/a-one-off-glam-rock-special-with-bob-williams/?play=fb&fb_action_ids=10154902946904283&fb_action_types=mixcloud%3Aupload
no rarities played, but an hour of the most well known hits from the Glam era
https://www.mixcloud.com/bob-williams4/a-one-off-glam-rock-special-with-bob-williams/?play=fb&fb_action_ids=10154902946904283&fb_action_types=mixcloud%3Aupload
no rarities played, but an hour of the most well known hits from the Glam era
Wednesday, June 5, 2019
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Monday, June 3, 2019
Sunday, June 2, 2019
Joe Biden, Bigotry on Race, White Black
“I do not buy the concept, popular in the ’60s, which said, “We have suppressed the black man for 300 years and the white man is now far ahead in the race for everything our society offers. In order to even the score, we must now give the black man a head start, or even hold the white man back, to even the race. I don’t buy that,” Biden told a Delaware weekly newspaper in 1975. “I don’t feel responsible for the sins of my father and grandfather. I feel responsible for what the situation is today, for the sins of my own generation. And I’ll be damned if I feel responsible to pay for what happened 300 years ago.” Joe Biden
As reported in leftist journalist Ryan Grim’s book, “We’ve Got People: From Jesse Jackson to AOC, the End of Big Money and the Rise of a Movement.”
Read more at http://americanactionnews.com/articles/flashback-joe-biden-s-very-awkward-speech-on-race#xlCXjIfPp9tQf7om.99
As reported in leftist journalist Ryan Grim’s book, “We’ve Got People: From Jesse Jackson to AOC, the End of Big Money and the Rise of a Movement.”
Read more at http://americanactionnews.com/articles/flashback-joe-biden-s-very-awkward-speech-on-race#xlCXjIfPp9tQf7om.99
Saturday, June 1, 2019
Friday, May 31, 2019
Thursday, May 30, 2019
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
Monday, May 27, 2019
Sunday, May 26, 2019
Saturday, May 25, 2019
Friday, May 24, 2019
Thursday, May 23, 2019
Wednesday, May 22, 2019
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
Monday, May 20, 2019
Sunday, May 19, 2019
Saturday, May 18, 2019
Friday, May 17, 2019
Thursday, May 16, 2019
Wednesday, May 15, 2019
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Monday, May 13, 2019
Sunday, May 12, 2019
Emperors of Rome: Episode XLI Nerva
The death of Domitian leaves a Flavian-sized hole in the fabric of Rome. In this past this would be filled with a quick, dramatic round of 'Who's got the biggest army?', but in this case it's different. The senate acts fast, putting one of their own, Nerva, in the seat of power.
January 24, 2016 at 11:38 PM
19.7 MB (Audio)
January 24, 2016 at 11:38 PM
19.7 MB (Audio)
Saturday, May 11, 2019
New Books in Religion: Buddhism
In her recent monograph, Real and Imagined: The Peak of Gold in Heian Japan (Harvard University Asia Center, 2015), Heather Blair explores the religious and institutional history of Kinpusen, a mountain in central Japan that served as both a pilgrimage destination for aristocrats from the capital and as a site for mountain asceticism.
Focusing her attention on aristocratic, male lay patrons–women were barred from climbing the mountain–she shows how the urban elite saw the mountains (and, in this case, specifically Kinpusen) as the capital’s opposite, as an untamed place to which one might go to gain something not accessible in the ordered world of the city of Kyoto. And she describes how some understood the pilgrimage to Kinpusen to correspond to the path to awakening, thereby practicing what Blair calls “spatial soteriology.”
A central theme in this book is the difficulty of neatly fitting Kinpusen into a single category, such as “Buddhist” or “Daoist.” An illustrative example would be the mountain’s multi-faceted tutelary deity, who is not easily categorized and who played an important role in linking buddhas and bodhisattvas to Japanese deities.
In addition to looking at how Kinpusen was imagined, Blair devotes about a third of the book to records of pilgrimages to the mountain and activities undertaken on the summit. She provides us with rich descriptions of the preparatory rites and practices that pilgrims undertook for a period of some months prior to departure, of the offerings that were made during the nine-day journey to Kinpusen, and of the rituals performed atop Kinpusen’s peak. Addressing the burial of sutras, which was one of these rituals, Blair shows how on Kinpusen sutra burial was tied to meanings and symbolism specific to this mountain and its principle deity and that in the evidence available from Kinpusen there is little indication that anxiety about the decline of Buddhism, which is the the basis for this rite most often mentioned in scholarly literature on the topic, was not a central, motivating factor.
With the decline of Kinpusen’s main patrons, the northern branch of the Fujiwara family based in the capital, Kinpusen ceased to be a significant pilgrimage destination. In the final section of the book Blair examines this process and the decades-long conflict between Kinpusen and a powerful temple, and demonstrates how Kinpusen, rather than falling into ruin, was transformed as it shifted away from the capital’s realm of influence and was incorporated into a network of mountains and Nara-based temples. Through the production of engi (temple-origin legends) Kinpusen was reimagined and eventually, in the fourteenth century, linked to the tradition of mountain asceticism. While many have seen the religious practices carried out on Kinpusen and the production of engi about Kinpusen and associated mountains during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries as being somehow opposed to the large, established monasteries and their interests, Blair shows that many of these engi were in fact produced and circulated within networks dominated by, or at least intimately tied to, the larger, landowning temples. In so doing she demonstrates that the distinction between lowland temple and mountain ascetic was not as clear as the rhetoric found in the engi would have us believe.
In addition, through her own fascinating theory of what she calls “ritual regimes,” Blair clarifies how rulers used ritual and pilgrimage as means of communication and control. Besides being of obvious importance for the study of pre-modern Japanese religion and Buddhism, this work will be of particular interest to those working on mountains in religion, sacred geography,
January 20, 2016 at 2:17 AM
31.8 MB (Audio)
Focusing her attention on aristocratic, male lay patrons–women were barred from climbing the mountain–she shows how the urban elite saw the mountains (and, in this case, specifically Kinpusen) as the capital’s opposite, as an untamed place to which one might go to gain something not accessible in the ordered world of the city of Kyoto. And she describes how some understood the pilgrimage to Kinpusen to correspond to the path to awakening, thereby practicing what Blair calls “spatial soteriology.”
A central theme in this book is the difficulty of neatly fitting Kinpusen into a single category, such as “Buddhist” or “Daoist.” An illustrative example would be the mountain’s multi-faceted tutelary deity, who is not easily categorized and who played an important role in linking buddhas and bodhisattvas to Japanese deities.
In addition to looking at how Kinpusen was imagined, Blair devotes about a third of the book to records of pilgrimages to the mountain and activities undertaken on the summit. She provides us with rich descriptions of the preparatory rites and practices that pilgrims undertook for a period of some months prior to departure, of the offerings that were made during the nine-day journey to Kinpusen, and of the rituals performed atop Kinpusen’s peak. Addressing the burial of sutras, which was one of these rituals, Blair shows how on Kinpusen sutra burial was tied to meanings and symbolism specific to this mountain and its principle deity and that in the evidence available from Kinpusen there is little indication that anxiety about the decline of Buddhism, which is the the basis for this rite most often mentioned in scholarly literature on the topic, was not a central, motivating factor.
With the decline of Kinpusen’s main patrons, the northern branch of the Fujiwara family based in the capital, Kinpusen ceased to be a significant pilgrimage destination. In the final section of the book Blair examines this process and the decades-long conflict between Kinpusen and a powerful temple, and demonstrates how Kinpusen, rather than falling into ruin, was transformed as it shifted away from the capital’s realm of influence and was incorporated into a network of mountains and Nara-based temples. Through the production of engi (temple-origin legends) Kinpusen was reimagined and eventually, in the fourteenth century, linked to the tradition of mountain asceticism. While many have seen the religious practices carried out on Kinpusen and the production of engi about Kinpusen and associated mountains during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries as being somehow opposed to the large, established monasteries and their interests, Blair shows that many of these engi were in fact produced and circulated within networks dominated by, or at least intimately tied to, the larger, landowning temples. In so doing she demonstrates that the distinction between lowland temple and mountain ascetic was not as clear as the rhetoric found in the engi would have us believe.
In addition, through her own fascinating theory of what she calls “ritual regimes,” Blair clarifies how rulers used ritual and pilgrimage as means of communication and control. Besides being of obvious importance for the study of pre-modern Japanese religion and Buddhism, this work will be of particular interest to those working on mountains in religion, sacred geography,
January 20, 2016 at 2:17 AM
31.8 MB (Audio)
Friday, May 10, 2019
Progressive Spirit: Tom Boyd, Lusting For Infinity
They went into the wilderness to discover religion. What is it all about? Why are people religious? The adventure is recounted in Dr. Tom Boyd's, Lusting For Infinity: A Spiritual Odyssey. Dr. Boyd is professor emeritus of philosophy and religious studies at the University of Oklahoma. Reading Lusting For Infinity is like hanging out with your favorite professor and talking about all the great, honest, and real stuff you never have time for in class. An important book for those with inquisitive minds and searching spirits. A study guide is available as well.
January 17, 2016 at 2:00 PM
40.5 MB (Audio)
January 17, 2016 at 2:00 PM
40.5 MB (Audio)
Thursday, May 9, 2019
History and Myths of Greece and Rome: Nika, Nika, Nika, Win, Win, Win
Justin is the Emperor but he’s not really in charge. His nephew, Peter Sabbatius, gains a new name and a lot of power. Not only that, Peter has the ambition and drive to exercise his power.
January 17, 2016 at 7:47 AM
17.9 MB (Audio)
January 17, 2016 at 7:47 AM
17.9 MB (Audio)
Wednesday, May 8, 2019
Philosophize This! Marx and Kierkegaard on Religion Part 1
Today we discuss Marx, his views on religion as a means of oppression, and his connection to Hegel's Dialectic.
January 16, 2016 at 7:07 PM
27.5 MB (Audio)
January 16, 2016 at 7:07 PM
27.5 MB (Audio)
Tuesday, May 7, 2019
Emperors of Rome: Episode XL What is an Emperor (redux)?
Think about the time spanning from Julius Caesar becoming a dictator right through to the assassination of Domitian. In that period of time Rome has gone from a Republic to being a Monarchy in everything but name. So what is an Emperor now, how has it changed, and what does it mean to hold that power?
January 11, 2016 at 10:30 PM
27.5 MB (Audio)
January 11, 2016 at 10:30 PM
27.5 MB (Audio)
Monday, May 6, 2019
Mad Dog Mattis' Reading List
Who tops your reading list?
Colin Gray from the University of Reading is the most near-faultless strategist alive. Then there’s Sir Hew Strachan from Oxford, and Williamson Murray, the American. Those three are probably the leading present-day military theorists. You’ve got to know Sun-tzu and Carl von Clausewitz, of course. The Army was always big on Clausewitz, the Prussian; the Navy on Alfred Thayer Mahan, the American; and the Air Force on Giulio Douhet, the Italian. But the Marine Corps has always been more Eastern-oriented. I am much more comfortable with Sun-tzu and his approach to warfare.
Colin Gray from the University of Reading is the most near-faultless strategist alive. Then there’s Sir Hew Strachan from Oxford, and Williamson Murray, the American. Those three are probably the leading present-day military theorists. You’ve got to know Sun-tzu and Carl von Clausewitz, of course. The Army was always big on Clausewitz, the Prussian; the Navy on Alfred Thayer Mahan, the American; and the Air Force on Giulio Douhet, the Italian. But the Marine Corps has always been more Eastern-oriented. I am much more comfortable with Sun-tzu and his approach to warfare.
Sunday, May 5, 2019
Saturday, May 4, 2019
Friday, May 3, 2019
Thursday, May 2, 2019
Wednesday, May 1, 2019
Tuesday, April 30, 2019
Monday, April 29, 2019
Sunday, April 28, 2019
Saturday, April 27, 2019
Friday, April 26, 2019
Religion: Popular Islam
This episode seeks to correct a major misconception concerning Islam and Muslim life. The Islam of the masses is not simply a reflection of the intellectual discourses that we have covered so far in the podcast.
December 31, 2015 at 1:21 PM
9.2 MB (Audio)
December 31, 2015 at 1:21 PM
9.2 MB (Audio)
Thursday, April 25, 2019
Emperors of Rome: Episode XXXIX Asterix and the Missing Scroll
Asterix and the Missing Scroll is one of the highest selling graphic novels of the year, but how does it stack up when you hand it to a dubious Roman classicist?
December 14, 2015 at 7:35 PM
15.6 MB (Audio)
December 14, 2015 at 7:35 PM
15.6 MB (Audio)
Wednesday, April 24, 2019
Emperors of Rome: Episode XXXVIII Domitian Must Die
Life under Domitian hasn't been easy for the Roman empire. After 15 years of cruelty and paranoia, those close to him decide to bring the Flavian dynasty to a messy ending.
November 30, 2015 at 5:44 PM
383 bytes (Audio)
November 30, 2015 at 5:44 PM
383 bytes (Audio)
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Emperors of Rome: Episode XXXVII Domitian Dominates
Domitian becomes emperor, and goes from being ignored and having little to Caesar of the greatest empire in the western world. but with great power comes great responsibility…
November 16, 2015 at 5:31 PM
383 bytes (Audio)
November 16, 2015 at 5:31 PM
383 bytes (Audio)
Monday, April 22, 2019
Emperors of Rome: XXXVI The Debut of Domitian
Titus dies without an heir, leaving his brother Domitian to take his place as Emperor. Before we get to that point, who exactly is Domitian, and what happens in his youth to shape him as a ruler?
November 3, 2015 at 5:31 PM
383 bytes (Audio)
November 3, 2015 at 5:31 PM
383 bytes (Audio)
Sunday, April 21, 2019
Emperors of Rome: Interlude Titus' Birthday
Clearing up a discrepancy - in what year was Titus born?
October 28, 2015 at 2:40 AM
2.6 MB (Audio)
October 28, 2015 at 2:40 AM
2.6 MB (Audio)
Saturday, April 20, 2019
Emperors of Rome: Episode XXV A Surprise from Titus
Making the most of his father's power, Titus sets the standard for all playboy princes yet to come. When Vespasian dies and Titus becomes Emperor, Rome was probably bracing themselves for the worst. Fortunately, he steps up to the challenge.
October 19, 2015 at 6:52 PM
23.3 MB (Audio)
October 19, 2015 at 6:52 PM
23.3 MB (Audio)
Friday, April 19, 2019
Emperors of Rome: Biography I Spartacus
Who exactly is Spartacus? Many of the sources are fragmentary, and provide little insight into the motives of the slave gladiator turned rebellious legend. Dr Rhiannon Evans (Ancient Mediterranean Studies, La Trobe University) explores the early years of Spartacus.
Subscribe to Biography now in iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/biography/id1042186814?
October 6, 2015 at 12:42 AM
19.9 MB (Audio)
Subscribe to Biography now in iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/podcast/biography/id1042186814?
October 6, 2015 at 12:42 AM
19.9 MB (Audio)
Thursday, April 18, 2019
Emperors of Rome: Episode XXXIV Titus and the Siege of Jerusalem
Titus is left in command of the troops in Judea by his father Vespasian, who leaves to become the new Emperor of Rome. Eager for a quick resolution, Titus sees taking Jerusalem as the key to ending conflict.
September 21, 2015 at 8:46 PM
19.1 MB (Audio)
September 21, 2015 at 8:46 PM
19.1 MB (Audio)
Mueller Report
https://www.bloomberg.com/bbg-gfx/mueller-report/mueller-report.pdf
https://www.bloomberg.com/bbg-gfx/mueller-report/mueller-report.pdf
https://www.bloomberg.com/bbg-gfx/mueller-report/mueller-report.pdf
Wednesday, April 17, 2019
Emperors of Rome: Episode XXXIII Vespasian Becoming a god
Vespasian is not the best-known Emperor, perhaps because he had an unremarkable rule, was well liked, managed things well… and wasn't notorious. Perhaps he should be known for the notable characteristics of being approachable and having a good sense of humour!
August 31, 2015 at 9:41 PM
25.4 MB (Audio)
August 31, 2015 at 9:41 PM
25.4 MB (Audio)
Tuesday, April 16, 2019
Emperors of Rome: Episode XXXII Vespasian, as Prophesied
Vespasian had a proud military career, and being of the equestrian ranks, showed little desire to ever become Emperor. The civil war changes this, and faced with so many prophesies Vespasian finally embraces his destiny.
August 24, 2015 at 8:07 PM
19.9 MB (Audio)
August 24, 2015 at 8:07 PM
19.9 MB (Audio)
Monday, April 15, 2019
Emperors of Rome: XXXI Enter Vespasian
The final contender for emperor in the civil war of 69CE is Vespasian, a general who at the time is off fighting a war against the jews in Judea. Before he rises to power he was a competent general of the Equestrian ranks, and had little desire to rule.
August 17, 2015 at 6:52 PM
21.1 MB (Audio)
August 17, 2015 at 6:52 PM
21.1 MB (Audio)
Sunday, April 14, 2019
Emperors of Rome: Episode XXX Vitellius
Vitellius has been vocally gaining support amongst his troops in Germania, enough to take on Otho and become emperor himself.
August 3, 2015 at 2:40 AM
18.9 MB (Audio)
August 3, 2015 at 2:40 AM
18.9 MB (Audio)
Saturday, April 13, 2019
Emperors of Rome: Episode XXIX Otho
When Otho dispatches with his predecessor Galba and declares himself Emperor he quickly finds himself under siege from Vitellius in Germany.
July 27, 2015 at 2:05 AM
18.6 MB (Audio)
July 27, 2015 at 2:05 AM
18.6 MB (Audio)
Friday, April 12, 2019
Emperors of Rome: Episode XVIII Galba
Rome descends into civil war and four contenders eventually vie for the rank of Caesar. The first to have any real success is an ageing governor and general from Spain, Galba.
July 12, 2015 at 8:30 PM
20.4 MB (Audio)
July 12, 2015 at 8:30 PM
20.4 MB (Audio)
Thursday, April 11, 2019
Emperors of Rome: Interlude Reading List II
As we delve into the civil war of Rome and reach the Flavian dynasty, we take the time to look at the sources and recommend some readings. A complete list will be available on Facebook.
July 6, 2015 at 9:08 PM
9.3 MB (Audio)
July 6, 2015 at 9:08 PM
9.3 MB (Audio)
Wednesday, April 10, 2019
WelchCast: How to Practice Candor Without Being a Jerk
Jack and Suzy Welch talk with Jon Steinberg about the right way to share candid feedback with your boss, your peers and your reports — and why it’s so tough to do.
Get ahead with an MBA from Jack Welch.
Visit - http://gameon.jwmi.com - to learn more today.
July 6, 2015 at 5:00 AM
9.7 MB (Audio)
Get ahead with an MBA from Jack Welch.
Visit - http://gameon.jwmi.com - to learn more today.
July 6, 2015 at 5:00 AM
9.7 MB (Audio)
Tuesday, April 9, 2019
WelchCast: Fear and Fearfulness
Jack and Suzy Welch talk with Jon Steinberg about how fear can be both a paralyzing force and a productive force in your organization, in deal-making and in your own career decisions. Plus, a discussion of bench strength, gut instinct and why you should always try to fire yourself.
Get ahead with an MBA from Jack Welch.
Visit - http://gameon.jwmi.com - to learn more today.
June 29, 2015 at 5:00 AM
9.3 MB (Audio)
Get ahead with an MBA from Jack Welch.
Visit - http://gameon.jwmi.com - to learn more today.
June 29, 2015 at 5:00 AM
9.3 MB (Audio)
Monday, April 8, 2019
Emperors of Rome: Episode XVII Ovid
Ovid is one of the most well-remembered poets of the ancient world, most notably for his work the Metamorphoses, but to contemporary Romans he had his critics - in particular the Emperor Augustus.
June 28, 2015 at 10:55 PM
20.2 MB (Audio)
June 28, 2015 at 10:55 PM
20.2 MB (Audio)
Sunday, April 7, 2019
Saturday, April 6, 2019
Friday, April 5, 2019
Thursday, April 4, 2019
Wednesday, April 3, 2019
Best Presentation
How to speak so people listen Ted
Killer Opener
Open and Close
Public Speaking Tips to Hook Any Audience
5 Basic Public Speaking Tips
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AykYRO5d_lI
Presenting Hands
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ooOQQOQdhH8
Why Carthage Failed and Rome Succeeded
cryptography/crypt/v/caesar-cipher
Margaret Hamilton, whose handwritten code saved the moon landing in 1969🚀, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom today by Barack Obama at the White House. Her code helped in prioritising the importance task to perform first. She was one of many forgotten and over-looked women in the scientific community, but articles in recent years and social media support have (thankfully) made her name mainstream. She rocked NASA & coined the term "software engineering". In first picture she is standing next to the navigation software that she and her MIT team produced for the Apollo project.
Modern Advances in Tech vid
Science Marches On
Summarize
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q7SLKYN4Xo
Which team, when Philadelphia is in action, will create the next big thing?
End with your beginning prompt.
One More Thing:
Who Will Create the Next Big Thing?
End with an inspiring story? Theodore Roosevelt?
Closing
End Bang
Yes
And that is why you should care "Moore."
Make a Presentation Like Jobs
Jobs Presentation
2007
Talk About the People
Presentation Speaking Tips
Delete thank you and how to end presentation.
End presentation
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=R3wlW6PaTsA
End
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lUTG-i4oQ10
Killer Opener
Open and Close
Public Speaking Tips to Hook Any Audience
5 Basic Public Speaking Tips
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AykYRO5d_lI
Presenting Hands
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ooOQQOQdhH8
Why You Should Care "Moore"
Show Kodachrome slide
I'm going to imagine that for most of you history was a boring subject in high school and you had little interest in the topic. Pardon my French but as the lyrics of Paul Simon state: “when I think back on all the crap I learned in high school it's a wonder I can think at all.”
Ask for audience response: how many of you agree with Paul Simon?
In any case, in addition to my favorite subject during high school, of course history, and I took the equivalent of eight years of history classes in four years: I was exposed to the best technology that the era had to offer.
Illustrate typing: then show typewriter slide.
Considering what was about to occur during the subsequent era of ubiquitous computing it was the most valuable class that I took in high school.
Prop: HP Jornada 720
Factoid to elicit interest.
My name is and I help companies analyze the past in order to better anticipate the future.
In today's talk I'm going to show you how critical cities in action are--in this case the Greater Philadelphia area--for technology development and commercial success.
Tell stories about individual people.
Theme: Cities in Action
What advantages did Athens have vs. Sparta?
What advantages did Rome have over its arch-rival, Carthage?
Reason
My reason for believing that cities in action are critical are to consider is that Athens outperformed Sparta. By providing more research resources Athens easily surpassed Sparta which was a slave holding city-state and it remained a more backward city.
Example
For example, Athens produced the most preeminent thinkers of the day including the best scientist, Aristotle.
Point of View
Athens achieved the necessary elements of scientific endeavor: a leisure class, intellectual interest, and preeminent education.
Story about Aristotle
Point of View
Rome needed an effective communication technique to defeat its enemies such as the Gauls, the Britons, and Carthage.
Reason
Julius Caesar created the Caesar cipher to effectively communicate with his subordinates to defeat the Britons.
Example
Rome vs. Carthage
The biggest rival during the rise of Rome in the Western Mediterranean was its arch competitor Carthage. What advantages did Rome have as a city in action over Carthage?
Ancient Carthage was, probably, roughly as diverse and multicultural as Saudi Arabia is today: A wealthy state with a small population, Carthage employed foreigners to do her nasty jobs and relied on foreign mercenaries rather than citizens to do her fighting. At the other, positive end of the spectrum of ancient states welcoming to foreigners and their ways was Rome. Romans imagined that their city had been founded from a flotsam of the accursed, exiles, and broken men. And loyal to those origins, Rome energetically split her citizenship into rights and ranks, and granted parts of it to her friends, who could eventually aspire to citizenship (National Review).
Although he never faced the Carthaginians Julius Caesar was one of the most preeminent Roman conquerors.
The story of Julius Caesar is an intensely dramatic one, which has fascinated generation after generation, attracting the attention of Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw, not to mention numerous novelists and screenwriters. Caesar was one of the ablest generals of any era, who left accounts of his own campaigns that have rarely--perhaps never--been surpassed in literary quality. At the same time he was a politician and statesman who eventually took supreme power in the Roman Republic; he made himself a monarch in every practical respect, although among the Romans he of course would never have taken the name of king or he would would have been killed (Goldsworthy, 1). In any case, he eventually was assassinated for fear he would become a permanent dictator.
The first well-known cipher, a substitution cipher, was used by Julius Caesar around 58 B.C.E. It is now referred to as the Caesar cipher. Caesar shifted each letter in his military commands in order to make them appear meaningless should the enemy intercept them.
Imagine that Cassandra and Julius wanted to communicate using the Caesar Cypher. First, they would need to agree on a shift, for example, three letters. So to encrypt her message Cassandra would need to shift three letters of her original message. Thus, A becomes D, B becomes E, C becomes F, and so on. This unreadable, or encrypted message, is then sent to Julius directly. Then Julius simply subtracts the shift of three letters in order to read the original message.
Incredibly, this basic cipher was used by military leaders for hundreds of years after Caesar.
Point of View Restated
In any case, the Caesar cipher led to an advance in cryptography in computing.
Why Carthage Failed and Rome Succeeded
cryptography/crypt/v/caesar-cipher
Margaret Hamilton, whose handwritten code saved the moon landing in 1969🚀, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom today by Barack Obama at the White House. Her code helped in prioritising the importance task to perform first. She was one of many forgotten and over-looked women in the scientific community, but articles in recent years and social media support have (thankfully) made her name mainstream. She rocked NASA & coined the term "software engineering". In first picture she is standing next to the navigation software that she and her MIT team produced for the Apollo project.
Modern Advances in Tech vid
Science Marches On
Summarize
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8Q7SLKYN4Xo
Which team, when Philadelphia is in action, will create the next big thing?
End with your beginning prompt.
One More Thing:
Who Will Create the Next Big Thing?
End with an inspiring story? Theodore Roosevelt?
Closing
End Bang
Yes
And that is why you should care "Moore."
Make a Presentation Like Jobs
Jobs Presentation
2007
Talk About the People
Presentation Speaking Tips
Delete thank you and how to end presentation.
End presentation
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=R3wlW6PaTsA
End
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lUTG-i4oQ10
Tuesday, April 2, 2019
Emperors of Rome: Episode XXVI Seneca the Younger
Seneca is best known as the the tutor and advisor of Nero, but he was a respected stoic philosopher, a writer of tragedies, and one of the richest men in the Roman empire.
May 17, 2015 at 10:07 PM
21.1 MB (Audio)
May 17, 2015 at 10:07 PM
21.1 MB (Audio)
Monday, April 1, 2019
Emperors of Rome: Episode XXV Livia
Livia is often known by association - the wife of Augustus and the mother of Tiberius - but she becomes a figure of power and influence in Rome in her own right.
May 4, 2015 at 4:11 AM
22 MB (Audio)
May 4, 2015 at 4:11 AM
22 MB (Audio)
Sunday, March 31, 2019
Emperors of Rome: Episode XXIV Cicero
Cicero was a self-made man who rose through the ranks of the Roman senate on the strength of his oration. This episode of Emperors of Rome looks at his life, his career and philosophy.
April 16, 2015 at 3:53 AM
19.2 MB (Audio)
April 16, 2015 at 3:53 AM
19.2 MB (Audio)
Saturday, March 30, 2019
Emperors of Rome: Episode XXII What An Artist Dies in Rome
Nero always seemed more interested in a playboy lifestyle than managing Rome, and this angered the people of Rome, the Senate and the military.
March 23, 2015 at 1:37 AM
19.2 MB (Audio)
March 23, 2015 at 1:37 AM
19.2 MB (Audio)
Friday, March 29, 2019
Emperors of Rome: Episode XXI The Great Fire of 64 C.E.
Nero’s biggest test as an Emperor came when a great fire tore through Rome in 64AD. What caused this fire and how Nero acted and reacted is a debate that academics continue to this day.
March 16, 2015 at 12:51 AM
13.8 MB (Audio)
March 16, 2015 at 12:51 AM
13.8 MB (Audio)
Thursday, March 28, 2019
Wednesday, March 27, 2019
Tuesday, March 26, 2019
History of Philosophy Without Gaps: Scotus
Peter hears about Duns Scotus’ epistemology from expert Giorgio Pini.
November 6, 2016 at 1:00 AM
28 MB (Audio)
November 6, 2016 at 1:00 AM
28 MB (Audio)
Monday, March 25, 2019
New Books in Politics & Sociey: Harcourt
The landscape described in Bernard Harcourt‘s new book is a dystopia saturated by pleasure. We do not live in a drab Orwellian world, he writes. We live in a beautiful, colorful, stimulating, digital world a rich, bright world full…
May 17, 2016 at 7:02 AM
31.4 MB (Audio)
May 17, 2016 at 7:02 AM
31.4 MB (Audio)
Sunday, March 24, 2019
Judicial Watch on Mueller Attempt at a Coup
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New Books in Science, Technology, and Society: Modern Science
The social practice we call science has had spectacular success in explaining the natural world since the 17th century. While advanced mathematics and other precursors of modern science were not unique to Europe, it was there that Isaac Newton, Robert Boyle, and others came up with theories that got modern physics and chemistry off the ground. In his latest book, Wondrous Truths: The Improbable Triumph of Modern Science (Oxford University Press, 2016), J.D. Trout mounts a spirited defense of the claim that the best explanation of the rise of science in 17th Century Europe is that Newton and others got lucky; among other serendipitous factors, they happened to come up with versions of preexisting ideas that were just right enough to explain just enough of the world, and that was enough to get the ball rolling.
Trout, who is Professor of Philosophy and Psychology at Loyola University in Chicago, defends the scientific realist view that scientific theories are successful because they are by and large true, not just predictively accurate. He also sharply distinguishes the psychology of explanation–the Aha! feeling of understanding–from the truth of an explanation. On his ontic view of explanation, we can experience being satisfied with bad (false) explanations, and there are true theories we may never understand.
To download this interview file directly, right click here and select “Save Link (or ‘Target’) As…”
October 15, 2016 at 6:00 AM
30.9 MB (Audio)
Trout, who is Professor of Philosophy and Psychology at Loyola University in Chicago, defends the scientific realist view that scientific theories are successful because they are by and large true, not just predictively accurate. He also sharply distinguishes the psychology of explanation–the Aha! feeling of understanding–from the truth of an explanation. On his ontic view of explanation, we can experience being satisfied with bad (false) explanations, and there are true theories we may never understand.
To download this interview file directly, right click here and select “Save Link (or ‘Target’) As…”
October 15, 2016 at 6:00 AM
30.9 MB (Audio)
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