The Kahn Academy

About a month ago I discovered The Kahn Academy. Since then, I've found myself spending spare moments watching the video tutorials to refresh my memory on a number of topics including finance, banking, the credit crisis, statistics, linear algebra, and physics. Although short (~10 minutes), the tutorials are very well done and a great resource.

Evidently, the creator, Salman Kahn, started out making video tutorials for a geographically distant niece. Unexpectedly, other people around the world began watching the videos and sending positive feedback. This motivated Kahn to turn the effort into a non-profit venture dedicated to providing high-quality, free educational materials. An inspiring story.

Also impressive is Kahn's simple approach of drawing diagrams on a "black board" in real-time - very similar to back-of-the-napkin visual brainstorming. Like all good teachers, Kahn's deep understanding allows him to discuss complex topics in a readily understandable manner.

If you've got a spare moment, I encourage you to check out a video.

400 Years of the Telescope

If you're interested in astronomy then you might enjoy this PBS documentary, 400 Years of the Telescope.

This beautifully filmed show summarizes the history of the telescope beginning with Galileo's first experiments with looking glasses up to the Hubble and radio astronomy. Along the way it (briefly) describes various recent technologies like adaptive optics and techniques for building very large mirrors.

While not a deeply technical resource, it is a nice way to spend an hour. In my case, I watched this on my iPhone while waiting for my son at a doctor's appointment and it was much better than reading out-of-date magazines - well worth the $1.99 cost.

Watching this made me want to work in an observatory someday, maybe I've seen the movie Contact too many times (if that is even possible) :-).