just busy

I had to rewrite the department curriculum yet another time last week. Papers to grade or paper topics to comment on from all my courses, not to mention a rough draft of an entire honors thesis. Somehow I have to find time to write an STS proposal. This past weekend my daughter and I went to a photography workshop at the convent, which was good but didn't have as much quiet time as I needed, and the weekend before the whole family went to New York City. Last meeting with the old therapist this Thursday. I've had 3 meetings now with the new one and so far it is more promising than I had dared to hope.  ¶ 11:32 AM

 

a robot that walks on water

The article is here
  ¶ 5:11 PM

 

Survey

I thought you might like to have the survey results:

Question 1
Do you consider yourself to be a particularly ethical person.

Yes, I think carefully about the ethics of what I do. 15%
Yes, I trust myself to do the right thing. 70%
I'm basically a good person but sometimes I will take the easy way out. 15%
No, I'm more interested in getting ahead than in ethics. 0.0%

Question 2
How religious are you?

I go to church regularly and my faith is important in my life. 55%
I go to church but it is more to be a part of a community--I don't think much about my faith. 5%
I don't go to church regularly but consider myself to be a very spiritual person. 25%
I don't go to church regularly and am not interested in religious things, but I have some faith in a higher power. 10%

Question 3
If you were in a situation on the job where corners were being cut that were going to endanger the public safety to the point where people might be killed what would you do?

Try to do my own part of the job well, and not look beyond that. 0%
Try to get my boss or coworkers to see the danger and do something about it. If that didn't work I would have done all I could. 5%
If my boss and coworkers wouldn't listen I would go to higher-ups in the company to alert them to the dangerous situation. If that didn't work I would have done all I could. 35%
If talking to my boss and coworkers and to higher-up didn't work I would talk to the customer or call up the local newspaper or television station and tell them about the dangerous situation (this is caused whistleblowing). 60%

Question 4
Some of the engineers who designed the death chambers for the concentration camps in Nazi Germany were brought to trial. Their defense was that they were just obeying orders. Is this an adequate defense?

Yes, the boss who makes the decision should be the only one held responsible. 5%
Yes, they couldn't fight the system, would probably have been killed themselves if they protested. 25%
No, they knew what they were doing. When your boss tells you to find a more efficient way to kill people it is time to refuse to participate instead of just trying to solve the technical problem. 70%
No, what was happening was obviously deeply immoral and they should have done everything they could to stop it, whatever the cost. 0%

Question 5
What is most important to you in your life?

Making a lot of money. 10%
Living honorably as a part of a community and raising your own children well. 75%
Making the world a better place. 15%



  ¶ 9:13 AM

 

engineering curriculum

What would an ideal curriculum be for engineering majors:
liberal arts
computers
hands on
engineering skills
  ¶ 9:35 AM

 

wild architecture

Look down this page for a wild building being built in Denmark, that apparently is being accepted as fashionable. When does the public like creative engineering, and when are they put off by it?  ¶ 8:07 AM

 

a new semester

Welcome to the professor's blog for Hist H122 in the fall of 2004. I would be very interested in reactions to the guest speaker, David Hess, either what he did in class or his lecture if you went to that. When you have started up your blog please send me an email with the address of your blog and I will make a list of links to student blogs in the right hand column.

  ¶ 11:18 AM

 

abundance

An interesting article on The Problem with Abundance discusses spam and music sharing.  ¶ 11:12 AM

 

try this list

Ten technologies that deserve to die  ¶ 1:53 PM

 

genetic engineering

An interesting article about opposition to genetic engineering. Contrast it with Overcoming Yuk.  ¶ 6:15 AM

 

Wright sister

Here's a story (audio) about the contributions made by Wilbur and Orville Wright's sister.  ¶ 7:12 AM

 

computers and common sense

Researchers are trying to figure out how to give computers common sense.  ¶ 6:58 AM

 

car culture

A radical article about how the automobile has changed our culture.  ¶ 10:57 AM

 

Chinese space flight

China has become the third nation to put human beings into space. Is this the beginning of a new space race, or do we not care?  ¶ 10:28 AM

 

class discussion

Can you think of other reasons why the public might reject a technology that works well and is useful? One classic example, that probably would have worked well, is the supersonic transport. I'm not sure the nuclear powered airplane counts as a good idea.  ¶ 3:16 PM