The coolest idea I have seen in ages...

I just posted about my problem with coming up with original, relevant ideas. Here's one:

1.) Quit Job
2.) Buy decent computer and video recording equipment
3.) Convert closet to recording studio
4.) Make short videos to post on the internet for free giving tutorials on thousands of math, science, etc... topics.

Wait....

Crap, it's already been done. Check out Salman Khan's Khan Academy. I can't even imagine what it would be like to be a professional philanthropist like that. Nerve wracking to get started, I'm sure, but think about all the people you could help chase their dreams of gaining new knowledge.

I keep thinking about the laptops for kids program where they sent tough laptops to third world countries to help schools there prepare kids better to enter a world of technology. How cool would it be to have them take lessons from the Khan academy to balance what I can only imagine has to be a difficulty finding qualified teaching staff. The videos are even short enough to keep within an attention span like mine.

Kudos, Salman. You're a hero in my book. Would that more people got involved in projects like that.

For the Math Geeks out there...

Ran across this on Hacker News this morning. This is a link to 100 Open Source lectures for Math Geeks. Everything from Algebra to Calculus, to the math in Engineering and Physics as well as teaching mathematics. Several of these series look pretty cool. Check it out for yourself if you've a mind.

Zombies and Math. What could go wrong?

I saw this on Hacker News today and it just spoke to me. As an engineer, I love to understand how things work. So, when someone wants to mathematically explain how a zombie apocalypse works, I'm all over it. You can be too, here. And to top it off, its a college paper. How cool is that?