Well, I'm back to Germany and this time its for the biggest beer festival in the entire world! After five more days back in Deutschland, I can't even explain how much I love this place. And since I'm being timed right now on my internet usage...I guess I won't.
Alles Gute aus Deutschland!
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Ein bischen Deutsch...
Und heute hab ich Lust eine Post auf Deutsch zu schreiben. Auf jeden fall ist mein Grammatisch und Wort-benutzung sehr schlecht aber manchmal denke ich dass ein bischen schreiben auf Deutsch konnte die fremdsprach fur mich verbessern. Fremdsprach ist so wichtig ein Kunst zu lernen, besonders fur Amerikaner. Wir besetzen hier an diese grosse Kontinent mit sehr wenig kulturisch verschieden. Damit die ganze Welt zu verstanden, mussten wir weit und breit reisen zu Fremdkultur zu finden. Wenn dies moglichkeit besetzt uns, wir sollten bereits werden. Mit die Landessprach vermitteln ist am besten weg die richtige Volkskultur zu tragen. Sprachforschung untericht viel uber die Kulture eine Lande. Ich hoffe das ich vergess dies Fremdsprach nicht und ich weiss das ich muss immer benutzen zu mir errinern. Vielleicht fang ich ein sprach-wechseln mit Skype eines Tages an. Und hoffenlich kann ich am endlich nach Deutschland Rueckreise.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Rigor in Development: How open-source science can improve our world
What am I reading today?
Mathematics: The Loss of Certainty
By, Morris Kline
Not a book you should pick up for an easy read on a road trip to Disney World, but "Mathematics: The Loss of Certainty" goes through the invention of Mathematics from its roots with the Babylonians back in 3000 BC to the Greeks creation of Euclidian geometry to the quarrels and debates of its development that lasted through the 19th century and on to today. It's interesting to see how some of the most useful mathematical methods like negative numbers, the complex number system, and irrationals, were hotly debated topics for hundreds of years. Man could not accept that when you take something from less than nothing you can get even more less than nothing. And to say that less than nothing multiplied by less than nothing could equal something was just nonsense. The arguments against imaginaries were even more profound. A number that represents the square root of a number less than one? Incomprehensible. Gauss said that if the units had not been given the names direct, inverse, and lateral as opposed to positive, negative, and imaginary, "people would not have gotten the impression that there was some dark mystery in these numbers." Today these topics are basic lessons taught in high school and college math class and are crucial for use in the complex mathematical operations of today.
But it's not my intention for today to summarize this somewhat complicated and monotonous book. What I want to dive into are some of the points made by mathematicians in Chapter VII, "The Illogical Development: The Predicament CIRCA 1800." Many arguments were made as to the necessity of proofs and rigor to define mathematics. The creation of a theorem could not be fully accepted by the mathematical community until it was proven for all n x n cases. To take on such a task for complicated (but many times useful) ideas could take years of painstaking and rigorous work. And it is these types of proofs that led the greatest minds of the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries to spend most of their time debating about the validity of concepts instead of building upon them. Over four hundred years of going round and round in circles....
In the modern world, how much rigor should be put into analysis before accepting and pressing forward with an idea? Engineers work for years on end to prove and reprove concepts so that no error is made. But what is wrong with taking an idea, publishing a coherent paper to the world and accepting it as true? Once it is released to the vast realm of the internet, it must submit to the scrutiny of thousands of critics through comments and response. And the more interesting the concept, the more critique it will gain. These critiques can serve as the painstaking "proof" process without hindering the development of the technology. With the advent of open-source technology and wiki articles, this concept of reducing rigor and continuing development seems to already be taking hold. But within the scientific community, the slow and painstaking process of "proof" continues. Proprietary information from large corporations cripples this development process to an extent, but the quickest and most technology savvy of companies will soon learn that the pros of expedited technology insertion far outweigh the cons of technology abduction. Companies like Google are already pressing forward with this attitude to the delight of unfathomable monetary gains. Google is the 7th largest company in the world by market capitalization and the majority of its work is done in an open-source environment. The results of publicizing information, pressing forward with advancement, and neglecting that difficult process called proof and analysis, will serve for the betterment of corporations and in the long run, the betterment of the world.
Mathematics: The Loss of Certainty
By, Morris Kline
Not a book you should pick up for an easy read on a road trip to Disney World, but "Mathematics: The Loss of Certainty" goes through the invention of Mathematics from its roots with the Babylonians back in 3000 BC to the Greeks creation of Euclidian geometry to the quarrels and debates of its development that lasted through the 19th century and on to today. It's interesting to see how some of the most useful mathematical methods like negative numbers, the complex number system, and irrationals, were hotly debated topics for hundreds of years. Man could not accept that when you take something from less than nothing you can get even more less than nothing. And to say that less than nothing multiplied by less than nothing could equal something was just nonsense. The arguments against imaginaries were even more profound. A number that represents the square root of a number less than one? Incomprehensible. Gauss said that if the units had not been given the names direct, inverse, and lateral as opposed to positive, negative, and imaginary, "people would not have gotten the impression that there was some dark mystery in these numbers." Today these topics are basic lessons taught in high school and college math class and are crucial for use in the complex mathematical operations of today.
But it's not my intention for today to summarize this somewhat complicated and monotonous book. What I want to dive into are some of the points made by mathematicians in Chapter VII, "The Illogical Development: The Predicament CIRCA 1800." Many arguments were made as to the necessity of proofs and rigor to define mathematics. The creation of a theorem could not be fully accepted by the mathematical community until it was proven for all n x n cases. To take on such a task for complicated (but many times useful) ideas could take years of painstaking and rigorous work. And it is these types of proofs that led the greatest minds of the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries to spend most of their time debating about the validity of concepts instead of building upon them. Over four hundred years of going round and round in circles....
In the modern world, how much rigor should be put into analysis before accepting and pressing forward with an idea? Engineers work for years on end to prove and reprove concepts so that no error is made. But what is wrong with taking an idea, publishing a coherent paper to the world and accepting it as true? Once it is released to the vast realm of the internet, it must submit to the scrutiny of thousands of critics through comments and response. And the more interesting the concept, the more critique it will gain. These critiques can serve as the painstaking "proof" process without hindering the development of the technology. With the advent of open-source technology and wiki articles, this concept of reducing rigor and continuing development seems to already be taking hold. But within the scientific community, the slow and painstaking process of "proof" continues. Proprietary information from large corporations cripples this development process to an extent, but the quickest and most technology savvy of companies will soon learn that the pros of expedited technology insertion far outweigh the cons of technology abduction. Companies like Google are already pressing forward with this attitude to the delight of unfathomable monetary gains. Google is the 7th largest company in the world by market capitalization and the majority of its work is done in an open-source environment. The results of publicizing information, pressing forward with advancement, and neglecting that difficult process called proof and analysis, will serve for the betterment of corporations and in the long run, the betterment of the world.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Writing just to write...
Sometimes I like to read, sometimes I like to work-out, sometimes I like to listen to speeches or watch movies or play video games...but right now, all I want to do is write. It's funny how after you graduate from college the necessity of writing anything just for the sake of writing drops virtually to zero. As an engineer, the only writing that I do is concise e-mails shot back and forth to coworkers meant to convey a complicated message in as simple language as possible. Long words and phrases turn into acronyms and compound sentences turn into bullet points. Difficult computations are much better represented as an attached Excel document and in-depth presentations become PowerPoints. And the statements that get electronically transferred through e-mail must be checked and double-checked for comprehension and accuracy, for once that "SENT" button is pressed, your simple statements become living documentation demonstrating your, and the organization that you represent's signed and authorized opinion of a certain situation. E-mail's can be dangerous... One wrong word sent to one wrong person can mean a thread-ful of hurt responses. Even the choice between "TO" and "CC" becomes a matter of close scrutiny; does a person copied on an e-mail really need to read the e-mail at all???
Technical writing takes all of the freedom and creativity that existed in your high school English class and flips it on its head. The need to use symbolism and literary devices is trumped by the desire for clear and concise communication. Maybe this is why so many people turn to blogging (and Facebook) to express their needs to write...freehand...in whatever literary fashion they may so desire. Whether a post contains the grammatical inferiority of an 8 year old or the professional tone of a world renowned author, the blog-ee can always feel good about taking the words within him and setting them out to the world (with no risk of rebuttal except that of a sharply phrased comment or two...) Although I do not think of myself as a regular "blogger", I respect and understand those who take the time to keep up with the online world and freely contribute their thoughts and opinions. Thanks to everyone who does this as it continues to keep people like me (lazy internet stumblers) with a bit of Attention Deficit Disorder entertained every day. Maybe someday I'll get more involved in the wide world of blogging and give a little back myself...
Technical writing takes all of the freedom and creativity that existed in your high school English class and flips it on its head. The need to use symbolism and literary devices is trumped by the desire for clear and concise communication. Maybe this is why so many people turn to blogging (and Facebook) to express their needs to write...freehand...in whatever literary fashion they may so desire. Whether a post contains the grammatical inferiority of an 8 year old or the professional tone of a world renowned author, the blog-ee can always feel good about taking the words within him and setting them out to the world (with no risk of rebuttal except that of a sharply phrased comment or two...) Although I do not think of myself as a regular "blogger", I respect and understand those who take the time to keep up with the online world and freely contribute their thoughts and opinions. Thanks to everyone who does this as it continues to keep people like me (lazy internet stumblers) with a bit of Attention Deficit Disorder entertained every day. Maybe someday I'll get more involved in the wide world of blogging and give a little back myself...
Thursday, March 25, 2010
What's happening at Pax?
Engineers are testing the most advanced aircraft in the world, Joint Strike Fighter. In this video it demonstrates its VTOL (Vertical Take-off and Landing) mode. Amazing piece of machinery...
Saturday, October 3, 2009
New Job in Maryland
Well, it's been a long time since I've posted anything in this blog...one, because I'm no longer in Germany and I haven't been for over a year now. Two, because I'd gotten very busy (and lazy) and had neglected to take the time to share my feelings in blog form.
But since my last posts I've still had lots of experiences that have been very meaningful to my life. For one, I've now graduated college and have moved on to take on the challenges of the "real world." This week, I started my first full-time job working in Southern Maryland for the government. So far, the job has been a little slow as it'll take some time for me to get through all my security clearance and paperwork so that I can start workin on real projects. Hopefully, my projects will involve some travel and I can see some more of the United States just like I got to see so much of Germany.
I should be gettin on this more often from now on and posting some short updates. Again, if anybody has any comments to make, please feel free! Comments and questions will give me a lot more encouragement to keep goin on this blog knowing that someone out there is reading.
But since my last posts I've still had lots of experiences that have been very meaningful to my life. For one, I've now graduated college and have moved on to take on the challenges of the "real world." This week, I started my first full-time job working in Southern Maryland for the government. So far, the job has been a little slow as it'll take some time for me to get through all my security clearance and paperwork so that I can start workin on real projects. Hopefully, my projects will involve some travel and I can see some more of the United States just like I got to see so much of Germany.
I should be gettin on this more often from now on and posting some short updates. Again, if anybody has any comments to make, please feel free! Comments and questions will give me a lot more encouragement to keep goin on this blog knowing that someone out there is reading.
Sunday, November 2, 2008
New Blog
I just wanted to let anyone who might be following this blog know about another blog I am currently writing for the college of engineering at Purdue. I'll be staying more up-to-date in it for a while so if you want to know the latest happenings in my life, check out my new blog at:
https://engineering.purdue.edu/Blogs/KyleZienin
Enjoy!
https://engineering.purdue.edu/Blogs/KyleZienin
Enjoy!
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