JetBlue Flight 292 ran into trouble yesterday before landing – its front landing gear was twisted 90 degrees. With great skill the pilot was able to land the plane with slight physical damage to the plane and there were no reported injuries!
Category: Mind Space
Math Made Easier, More Accurate
Dr Norman Wildberger has created a new framework for trigonometry that is easier to learn and more accurate. No more sines, cosines and tangents; they have been replaced by “spread” and “quadrance.”
Simple algebra can be used to better figure out triangles, which means that students have less to learn and don’t need a calculator.
Science Fiction Travel Book is Real
Don’t panic. A new “book” knows where you are and will tell you about your surroundings. It is designed for tourists so that they can get more information about what they are looking at and provide a more enriching experience.
“If you go to a historic area there may be thousands of points around the site of importance, but on their own they don’t warrant a museum,” says Wellesley-Davies. “Our guide allows you to pull them all together.
This device can perhaps provide a better way to learn about history (and other subjects) by being interactive and more engaging.
California Legalizes Marriage
California can now be added to the list of American States that have OK’d gay marriage, but Cali goes further. Now any “two persons” can be legally wed in the state.
Many people see California’s step as a good direction for the USA because social-politcal trends in the state are usually reflected by the rest of the country soon afterwards. What makes California unique (in America) is that the politicans took the steps needed to legalize gay marraige and not the courts.
Forget Books, People Want to Borrow People
A library in Holland is now loaning out volunteers so users of the library can chat with them. The people who have volunteered include homosexuals, drug addicts, asylum seekers, gipsies and the physically handicapped.
Borrowers can take the volunteer to the cafe and sit down and talk. The idea is that this program will break down social barriers and create a more understanding society. Borrowing people to fight prejudice apparently started in Sweden.