jdnier

An interesting essay, excited by President Obama's pledge to “restore science to its rightful place,” that considers the relationship between science and democracy and how the health of one influences strongly the other.

“If there is anything democracy requires and thrives on, it is the willingness to embrace debate and respect one another and the freedom to shun received wisdom. Science and democracy have always been twins.”

For me, it was having something practical to accomplish (and better if it had a deadline attached). String processing (manipulating text) was, for me, a comfortable place to start. Python is a great first language to learn and will let you explore just about every nook and cranny of computer science you find interesting. Pick up a Python book, work through the first several chapters. Then come up with a simple problem you want to solve. If you enjoy solving problems, stick with it -- a programmer you may be!

I was going to say I think we've (well, a lot of us) have forgotten how to make and engineer mechanical, physical things... but you're completely right, it's not like a computer is any less complex. Still, hot metal is impressive!

The cameras are really easy to make (disposable) and require no chemistry to develop. You end up with a color-like negative using simple black and white photo paper. Here are a couple related howtos:

http://www.pinholephotography.org/Solargraph%20instructions....

http://www.solargraphy.com/index.php?option=com_content&...

Ivan Krstić was the security lead for the One Laptop Per Child project. Here's his completely unrelated retelling of the downfall of Adolf Merckle, one of the world’s richest men, who committed suicide yesterday by throwing himself under a train. Merckle is actually ancillary to the story; it's really more about how Porsche perpetrated "one of the most masterful hacks of the financial system in history." It's fascinating!