Below are the 20 most recent journal entries recorded in Destiny Nova's LiveJournal:

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Tuesday, January 8th, 2008
10:09 am	I just saw something that gives me hope for the future. (Admittedly it's hope for the future of Britain, not hope for the future of the U.S.) There is a petition before 10 Downing Street (the U.K. equivalent of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.) to make Philosophy and critical thinking part of the core curriculum taught to all U.K. students (along with Math, English, and Science) http://petitions.pm.gov.uk/Philosophy-Edu/ (Comment on this)
Sunday, January 6th, 2008
4:36 am	Just Johnny I finally saw Johnny Mnemonic. Part of me is glad that it's just as large a crock as I suspected. I mean, seriously, how does the character inspired by Molly get turned into the weakest of the protagonists? Since when was Johnny good in a fight - and what ever happened to living wealthily ever after? Thankfully it's not the worst sci-fi hack job ever (in book I, Robot the implication is that the machines actually did take over the world - and in a relatively bloodless manner at that). Okay, so I know this isn't what I said I'd use this journal for, but I wanted to make sure I didn't get out of the habit of writing here. More research materials to follow. (Comment on this)
Tuesday, December 18th, 2007
11:07 pm	The Theology Game: The Freedom of G-d I recently managed to find the blog of one of my old College friends (http://holy-vignettes.blogspot.com/ for the curious). Within that blog she proposes a theology game. This is my reply to her most recent prompt. ( Read more... ) Current Mood: energetic (Comment on this)
8:22 pm	Library Science Well, since I'm actually planning of progressing into a MLS program (rather than a MEd program), I figured it was important for me to start investigating Theories of Library Science as well. And from first blush it would appear the discipline is a mess, with almost as many theories as prominent authors. Moreover, it is the first discipline I have seen that actually states right up front that a handful of it's most prominent theories call for 'fuzzy set theory' (an offshoot of standard set theory which, as far as I can tell, has yet to produce and substantive results not already covered by standard set theory). On the down side, this means that it will be atrociously difficult to study what I want do from a library research perspective. On the other hand, there seems to be a huge amount of room for Operations Theory to make an impact upon Library Science. I find this mildly ironic: libraries do not seem like they will be terribly useful in produsing a useful and interesting project dealing with library science, but mathematics (one of the disciplines I am 'leaving') seems like it would. That said, there are other archival projects that I can think of which would rely upon libraries - but these would be observations of historical trends within libraries rather than studies on the better administration of libraries. It makes me wonder which libraries are already being run on models proposed by OR specialists. It would be interesting to see how their efficiency compares to that of a 'typical' library. Still, I did find some authors which it looks like it might be looking into: McGrath, Bothamley, McKechnie, Smiraglia, and a few others. (Comment on this)
Monday, December 17th, 2007
7:02 pm	Odd and Happy Mood Show In my long absence from LJ I had forgotten that long posts almost never attract replies. So, while I still intend to make long posts to assist me in my own writing and research process - I will also try to include some short (and I hope eventually interesting) snippets to keep my friends from blocking me out of boredom. So, current project (aside from gathering info for eventual phil. of math ed. piece) - drafting ideas for a gently bent ensemble skit comedy show for YouTube and Public Access. Admittedly, this is putting the cart before the horse, as I have no ensemble to work with - but for the most part I am trying to limit myself to brainstorming ideas. It might be just a wee bit problematic if I were to write out full scripts for an ensemble about a community that I have very limited access to/participation in. Anywhoo - if any of you know some local folks who might be interested in such a project, could you point them in my direction? (Techies also welcome) Current Mood: excited (Comment on this)
Sunday, December 16th, 2007
7:26 am	Problems with Every Vote Equal This is an offshoot from a conversation I was having with my roommate about the Every Vote Equal movement (www.every-vote-equal.com) What will follow are hardly polished (or well researched) positions, they are my gut reactions to Every Vote Equal. Subsequent research, or sound arguments from others may sway my ultimate position on this proposal. First, though, I suppose I should give a (very) brief synopsis of Every Vote Equal. Every Vote Equal is a plan to use each State's constitutional right to determine it's own method of selecting electors to guarantee that any presidential candidate who wins the popular vote will also win the electoral vote. Until the E=V=E states control enough electoral college seats to dictate the result of the election (a feat that currently requires 270 seats), the E=V=E legislation will do exactly nothing. However, once those seats have been assured (say, by a coalition of all states possessing 15 or more electoral votes), every state adopting E=V=E legislation will have legally agreed to appoint electors who will vote for the candidate who won the nationwide popular vote, regardless of the outcomes of the elections within in the individual E=V=E member states. There are a number of problems I have with this approach. First of all E=V=E presupposes that a direct vote is inherently superior to a vote weighted to support the voice of smaller, less populous states. While certainly a popular rallying cry (especially under a president who lost the popular vote) it flies directly in the face of the wishes of this nation's founding fathers. Even with the ambiguity present in the constitution with regards to how electors should be selected, the framers of our constitution specified that each state should have a number of electors equal to it's combined total of senators and representatives - not equal to the number of representatives alone. It was an intentional choice to grant extra wight to the votes from the smaller states to help counter the fact that their smaller populations could make them easier to ignore. This is not to say that the system designed by our founding fathers is not without difficulties. As has been pointed out (both online and by several peers), the current system tends to focus candidates' attentions on a handful of contentious states while generally ignoring the others (regardless of whether they are more or less populous). I personally feel the situation is more nuanced than that, but even accepting such a position - a switch to a direct vote will not actually fix this problem - it will redirect it. Instead of focusing on split states, the savvy politician will turn their attentions towards dense population centers - we will see politics focused on a handful of metropolises to the detriment of all else instead of on a handful of states to the detriment of all else. This does not strike me as an improvement. If a state truly feels that it is being taken for granted by it's favored party, there are always other options. Should a large state chose to adopt the Maine method, it will most definitely draw the attention of the candidates (at least in the short run) - but it will also mean a dilution of the power of the majority's vote. Just one look at what happened in California and you'll be able to see how likely that is. Another possible response for the neglected state is to team up with other states in a similar position, find common ground, establish a platform, and launch their own candidate for president - one who has been chosen for his or her attention to the needs of the collaborating states (and any other place in our nation which is encountering similar issues). Ideally you would get an amalgamation of traditionally Republican and traditionally Democratic states so as not to weaken either party more than the other. Some other problems I see - in theory E=V=E allows as few as 11 states to collaborate to change the way in which the entire nation resolves it's presidential election (compared to the 34 states necessary to initiate a constitutional convention, or the 38 states necessary to ratify any changes such a convention would make to the constitution). Change the number of signatory states from 11 to 13 and it would be mathematically impossible for the other states alter the nature of presidential elections, even if they did manage to call for a constitutional convention. E=V=E does not have any mechanism in place to cope with the possibility that some state might adopt a means of selecting it's electors other than a popular vote of its citizens. (Admittedly, I'd rather that no state go back to legislative or gubernatorial appointment of electors - but E=V=E is based on the premise that individual states can select their electors by whatever means they chose, yet seems to disregard the possibility that non-member states might do just that). Also, if E=V=E does succeed in switching the U.S. to a popular vote presidential election, I think that there will be a further calcification of the political process. When the opinions of a handful of voters in a swing state can shift the results of an election, the major parties need to listen to the positions of the minor parties or risk losing the election (see: Gore). When the only 'swing' element of the election is the entire popular vote, the minor parties will become truly irrelevant. Neither the Democrats nor Republicans (nor their chosen candidates) will have any incentive to ever adopt a platform from a minor party. There are other points, but I can tell this is getting overly lengthy already - and I'd like to see what other people think before I go on. (Comment on this)
Friday, December 14th, 2007
9:19 pm	Initial Thoughts for Scope of a HS logic course So, I don't yet have enough background knowledge of current educational (or developmental) philosophies to apply any justifications or appeals to authority (i.e. citations) - but on first blush these are the topics that I feel should be covered in a High School level logic course. I - Mathematical Logic I.a - Mathematical Induction (Samples from Number Theory) I.b - Mathematical Deduction (Propositional Logic & Geometric Proof) I.c - Symbolic Logic I have some texts on Mathematical Logic, but they are meant for someone more familiar with mathematical vocabulary than tends to be present at the High School level. If anyone knows of a H.S. level Logic text, I'd love to give it a look. II - Rhetorical Logic II.a - Argumentative Structure (Premise & Conclusions, Diagramming Arguements, &c) II.b - Argumentative Development (Dialectial Approach, Claims of Fact & Authority, &c) II.c - Hypothetical Arguements II.d - Logical Fallacies In my own high school education I was exposed to a wonderful text on Rhetorical Logic: Ergo</i> by Sheila Cooper and Rosemary Patton. It needs to be updated for the current decade - but in terms of design I feel that it is ideal.</i> III - The Scientific Method In truth, I'm not sure of any specific topics that need to be covered. Instead, this seems like a good place to provide 'practical' experience in postulating and testing hypotheses. It might be a good place to bring up antiquated scientific theories, then conduct the experiments that disproved them and have the students then propose their own theories. Compare the student theories against the current scientific theory, then determine if there is an experiment that could differentiate the two. (Comment on this)
2:13 pm	More Background Materials http://www.ed.gov/about/bdscomm/list/mathpanel/reports.html Some writings from the presidents National Mathematics Advisory Panel. I was pleasantly surprised to note that their observations regarding Algebra I students was not terribly divergent from my own observations. The greatest problems cited in students entering Algebra I were: comprehending rational numbers; solving word problems; having poor study skills. While I have never had a significant problem with students failing to understand fractions (mixed, improper, or otherwise) when I was teaching, I do recall that several of my classmates had difficulty with these subjects when they were first learning Algebra I. Most of the teachers surveyed thought that the Algebra I curriculum was a-okay as is. Within the current standards secondary models of Algebra I - Geometry - Algebra II - Precalc - Calculus (or Algebra I - Algebra II - Geometry - Precalc - Calculus) that makes sense. Of course, I personally would like to see that shifted to Algebra -> Geometry -> Logic -> Analytic Geometry -> Mathematical Electives (Discrete/Calculus/Business Maths &c) or some other model of that variety. Perhaps even a model that includes a 'pre-algebra' class that focuses on the areas of preparation that seem lacking (word problems, fractions, and the ability to study from a math text). However, the part of the report that made me the most 'happy' was to see that lack of motivation among students was cited as the single largest difficulty to Algebra I education with 62% of reporting teachers listing it as their primary difficulty. With any luck this will lead to an environment where those people designing curricula will ask themselves 'can the study of this subject of math be shown to be relevant to the student body of this day and age?' 'Happy' here is, of course, a relative term. I'd rather that this problem not exist, but as long as it does, I'm glad that it is actually being acknowledged on a nationwide level. Lack of parental support was listed as a likely supporting factor to the last point - but the survey did not go into terribly much detail on that point. More to follow, I'm sure. (Comment on this)
Thursday, December 13th, 2007
2:43 am	An Alternate Take Here's something that appeared on the MAA website earlier this year that takes a different P.O.V. on the matter. Unlike the author, I do think that utility should be one of the primary concerns of mathematics education, at least at the secondary level. For many individuals their secondary mathematics lessons will be their last real academic exposure to the disciplines -- which means it is not the time to still be teaching foundations on the promise of 'it will be important later.' (Which doesn't mean that the element of foundation should be absent from the subjects chosen, but almost everything in maths eventually builds to something else anyway). That Physics should be held up as a better discipline for teaching logic strikes me as a travesty. Yes, it is great for observational induction - and unlike 'pure' maths as it seems to be taught today it has more of a built in mechanism for prediction and observation, but there is no reason why this has to be the case. Indeed I see little reason for upper end secondary mathematics to necessarily be 'pure.' Logic can be taught from multiple perspectives, and I see no reason why it shouldn't be taught that way. Isn't the current fad to teach to multiple learning styles? It seems to me that rhetorical logic, boolean algebra, inductive reasoning, deductive reasoning, and the scientific method could all be taught together under the umbrella of an 'impure' mathematics course. But before I get too far off topic, the article: http://www.maa.org/devlin/devlin_06_07.html ( Read more... ) (Comment on this)
1:22 am	Reviving this Journal I have decided to start using this journal again, but for more academic purpose. As long as I have so much enforced idle time, I don't want to lose the academic touch entirely, so I'm going to spend time hunting down educational articles that match (or run opposite) to my own philosophies and start working towards some writings expressing my own opinions on the matter. Thankfully I have had the good luck to find such an article right off the bat, to the point where I will most likely revisit time and again to see if there are more points that I can mine from it. Even though the author seems to be writing from a British perspective, the ideas seem like they apply equally to the U.S.A., with perhaps the exception of the penultimate portion describing which educational philosophies have dominated the national discourse (that I will have to determine on my own - unless I happen to luck out). For those who wish to read the article at its original location: http://www.people.ex.ac.uk/PErnest/why.htm ( For ) (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Wednesday, April 5th, 2006
9:09 pm	Tell us to go out... and buy! Find your Celestial Choir (Comment on this)
Thursday, March 30th, 2006
5:39 am	Sweet! I think that Neil Gaiman may have just sent me a silent acknowledgment. His blog entry from Sunday was titled "The Wolves are Running" and I commented on the John Masefield reference. His entry today was titled "Box of Delights" - which is the name of the John Masfield book from which the line "The Wolves are Running" comes. The content of the posts is pretty neat too. It would appear that Wolves in the Walls is being turned into a play. (Of course, it's also possible that I'm off my rocker, and for some reason the play Neil Gaiman is helping out with is based on Box of Delights. In which case I'd like the egg on my face scrambled and fried and fed to me with a slice of humble pie). (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Monday, March 27th, 2006
10:45 pm	Your Ultimate Purity Test 2.0 Score Is... Your Score: Average For All Users Average For All ( total) Dating 3.85% 33.95% Gone steady Self-Lovin' 34.85% 61.65% When I think about you - or anyone - I touch myself Shamelessness 79.03% 77.83% Has yet to see self in mirror Sex Drive 76.19% 75.7% Monks are envious Straightness 18.52% 40.4% Knows the other body type like a map Gayness 83.33% 78.93% Repressed, are we? Dominant 58.33% 87.36% Not afraid to tie the knot Submissive 74.6% 87.72% Bound and gagged a few times Fucking Sick 82.65% 90.25% Refreshingly normal Total Score 61.6% 74.36% Take The Ultimate Purity Test 2.0 and see how you match up! (By The Ferrett) (Comment on this)
Wednesday, March 15th, 2006
10:42 am	Let it Snow and Storm, I'll Be Warm I love my betrothed. There's no particular reason for this post, other than its truth, but it seemed like the thing to do. (3 Comments |Comment on this)
Monday, March 13th, 2006
7:09 pm	On the Bottom of the Beautiful Briney Sea You scored as Ginny Weasley. You definitely share your mother's (Molly Weasley) fiery resolve and slowly but surely people are learning to respect you because of it. </td> Ginny Weasley 90% Remus Lupin 85% Ron Weasley 75% Hermione Granger 75% Sirius Black 75% Albus Dumbledore 65% Harry Potter 60% Severus Snape 55% Draco Malfoy 45% Lord Voldemort 25% Your Harry Potter Alter Ego Is...? created with QuizFarm.com Current Mood: pleased Current Music: Hackmaster at Phoenix (Comment on this)
Sunday, March 12th, 2006
12:08 pm	True Love Can be Whispered from Heart to Heart Why limousine drivers have an interesting job (a funereal perspective). Well, first and foremost, limousine drivers are like taxi drivers, only their cars are about three times as long and don't have a white light on top. They don't talk much either. In part that's because most people in a limo (especially a funerary limo) have other things on their mind. Things like what competition my second cousin, the award winning skateboarder, is going to be in next, and what sort of technology his father has been having to use to actually record it all. But it also probably has something to do with the earbug telephones they all seem to wear. For all I know they've gotten really good at talking to each other with low pitched voices keeping everyone up to date on just how ridiculous their current charges are. Or, maybe they're highly professional, and are discussing road conditions, and when they plan to change lanes, and all that good stuff. After all, there seemed to be a awful lot of coordination between the limos and the hearse. For example, when attempting to change lanes on the turnpike the rear limo would actually shift lanes first, which guaranteed that the front limo and the hearse could change lanes without anyone speeding up behind them to cut them off. There's more I'll want to add. Mostly about the work clothes, attitudes, and limited speech of the limo drivers, but I don't want this post to get too long, so I'll write about that later. Current Mood: pleased Current Music: "Idea of the Memory" from the Utena Soundtrack (Comment on this)
Tuesday, March 7th, 2006
10:23 pm	And you and me are free to be - you and me! ( Shamelessly stolen from the Texan ) Current Mood: happy Current Music: "Everybody South Street" by the Taffys (on Pandora) (Comment on this)
Saturday, March 4th, 2006
11:05 am	Come Blow Your Horn Except for the echoes and reverberations, the grandparent chapter is no closed. With any luck it will span a quarter of the book that is my life. I am grateful to have friends who will support me and my family in our time of loss. No matter how histrionic and argumentative the old coot was, he remains my grandfather and my mother's father. And if anyone tells you that Taps sounds the same when recorded as it does when it is performed live, they're full of it. Kermit's send off was pantomimed to a recording. However, the honor guard he received performed their duties with precision and respect, and I have to believe that it was not a coincidence that both members of the honor guard, like my grandfather, were decorated for their riflery. I will, of course, write more later, but this will do for now. Current Mood: content Current Music: "The Eyes of Truth" by Enigma (Comment on this)
Thursday, March 2nd, 2006
9:21 am	Here I Am Hidden behind a cut because large memes can be just a tad annoying if you don't want to read them. ( Read more... ) Current Mood: nervous Current Music: Soundtrack to Serenity (1 Comment |Comment on this)
Tuesday, February 28th, 2006
7:40 pm	Time Will Crawl Kermit passed away this morning. I'll be heading back out to New York on Thursday, and then coming back on Friday evening, after the services. Part of me wants to stay longer, but I've already booked the train tickets, and quite honestly I need to get back to job hunting as soon as I can, especially since this death in the family (like the last one) just happens to coincide with a job interview that one of my job placement agencies set up. It hasn't hit me yet, and unfortunately I'm going to be far too buisy to register what's coming down until it hits me at the funeral. Unfortunately, Laura cannot accompany me this time. It would interfere with two days of work that she can't afford to miss (especially since, at the moment, she's the breadwinner of our little pairing). I can always hope that there's some good news in the works, but that doesn't seem to be the trend at the moment. Current Mood: crushed Current Music: "If I'm Dreaming My Life" by David Bowie (2 Comments |Comment on this)