Xref: utzoo comp.graphics:9158 sci.edu:867 Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!clyde.concordia.ca!uunet!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!decwrl!shelby!eos!eugene From: eugene@eos.UUCP (Eugene Miya) Newsgroups: comp.graphics,sci.edu Subject: Re: Visualization in Education (was Message-ID: <5912@eos.UUCP> Date: 4 Jan 90 17:15:49 GMT References: <5771@eos.UUCP> <9197@cbmvax.commodore.com> Reply-To: eugene@eos.UUCP (Eugene Miya) Followup-To: sci.edu,comp.edu Organization: NASA Ames Research Center, Calif. Lines: 43 In article <9197@cbmvax.commodore.com> mitchell@cbmvax.commodore.com (Fred Mitchell - PA) writes: >In article <5771@eos.UUCP> eugene@eos.UUCP I wrote: >>Randy's system had this. Great to learn about acceleration, >>force, but how long do you dwell on something which does not exist >>in known science? It's a model. > >I think it would be rather interesting to explore aspects of alternate >fields. "Negative Gravity", for example, may be representative of >how two negatively charged bodies might behave. There's always an >application somewhere that somebody will eventually discover. Make two notes: 1) I am not arguing against intent, I am arguing about degree. 2) Have you considered the differences between gravitational fields and EM fields? [Appropriateness argument.] [See the Mechanical Universe tape on this, its not just a matter of changing the sign of a number.] >No! Then the English Departments would want us to do simulations of >Shakespeare! :-) Look up the AI concept of an "Agent" by Minsky. 8) I was just in Ashland Oregon where there is a noted Shakespeare festival. It seems that the various specialities in computer science do not communicate with one another. Whereas some fields are just discovering uses for computer graphics, computer graphics could learn to use a few things from other computer science specialities. One of the most distinguished (and oldest PhDs) in CS, E. Dijsktra just had a special article published in the most recent CACM on teaching CS. In it he comes down hard on the topic of "Visualization." He drops a particular attack on algorithm animation. We are now moving away from graphics into "what constitutes education?" and "what is graphics role?" Duly noted, cross-posted, and follow uped away from graphics but with comp.edu and sci.edu. Another gross generalization from --eugene miya, NASA Ames Research Center, eugene@aurora.arc.nasa.gov resident cynic at the Rock of Ages Home for Retired Hackers: "You trust the `reply' command with all those different mailers out there?" "If my mail does not reach you, please accept my apology." {ncar,decwrl,hplabs,uunet}!ames!eugene