"Education's purpose is to replace an empty mind with an open one." Malcolm Forbes

Many Many times I look up a how to on the great and powerful YouTube. It’s useful for everything from cooking a roast to installing a disposal under the sink but how is it for a subject like math? The answer is very good indeed. Recently I caught a great interview with the founder of the Khan Academy. He started out recording a few math videos and posting them to Youtube to help his niece. She and others found them useful and now more and more people are contributing and learning from the Khan Academy. It is now a nonprofit that creates videos explaining subjects like biology, math, banking and money….Their admirable mission is to give access to knowledge to anyone. I am a big fan of this idea. I have watched a few of the videos and they work for me. They usually consist of a narrator writing on a digital blackboard. For people who might have a concentration or understanding issues, this is great because you can rewatch it as many times as you need. Plus you can download some for .99 cents to watch on your iPod or whatever. Also many people leave useful comments for these videos unlike other ones on YouTube. So if you are having trouble with a subject try this fantastic free service.

Below is the NPR interview. Quite interesting.

“There is always something to upset the most careful of human calculations.” Ihara Saikaku

When I was in high school sitting in a chemistry or math class we had to use those really fantastically awesome science calculators. Now I never did well in either of those subjects, let’s chalk it up to the fact that I never figured out how that amazing calculator actually worked. Recently I noticed the lack of calculators in general so to bridge the gap I give you the Scientific Calculator. Essentially it is just a page that looks and feels like the real thing. I have to say I like this version even better because of the largeness of the screen and the fact that it is not that as hard as it was to read a liquid crystal screen. So if you want to relive a class or need to process some higher functions give this a try.