A number of computer futurists use the term technological singularity (or, simply the word singularity) to refer to the time when computers become more intelligent than humans. Such futurists suggest that at the time of the singularity computers will move from being somewhat less intelligent than humans to being vastly more intelligent than humans.

Quoting from Technological Singularity in the Wikipedia:

The term [technological singularity] was coined by science fiction writer Vernor Vinge, who argues that artificial intelligence, human biological enhancement or brain-computer interfaces could be possible causes of the singularity. The concept is popularized by futurists like Ray Kurzweil and it is expected by proponents to occur sometime in the 21st century, although estimates vary.

I like numbers. This morning at breakfast I was browsing USA Today on my iPad, and I came across an article titled, "Several New State Laws Set for 2012" (Welch, 12/9/2011).

Here is the second paragraph:

Some 40,000 laws were passed by legislatures meeting in all 50 states during 2011, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, and many have a start date of Jan. 1, 2012.

I was listening to the radio yesterday as I was returning from visiting a professional colleague. Two frightening news items caught my attention:

• The World’s population is now about 7 billion people.
• The U.S. Federal debt is now about $14 trillion. (Note added 7/28/2012: There are a variety of Web-based "data clocks." The site http://www.usdebtclock.org/ keeps track of the estimated U.S. debt. As of 7/28/2012 the estimate is over $15.9 trillion. The World Population Clock site at  http://www.worldometers.info/world-population/ estimates the world population at  7.056 billion.)

Being the numbers-oriented person that I am, I divided the larger of these two numbers by the smaller, and got an answer of $2,000 of U.S. federal debt for each person on earth. If each person on earth would contribute $2,000 to the U.S., it could pay off its debt.

Alternatively, each person in the U.S. could make a payment of about $50,000. That would wipe out the national debt. However, imagine a family of four living at the poverty level in the U.S. In the 48 contiguous states in the year 2012, this level was set at  $23,050. The U.S. national debt burden for a family of four is about $200,000—or quite a bit more than eight times that poverty level income.

It is easy to think of possible ways to improve education. Ask almost anybody, and you will get some suggestions. It is much more difficult to think of ways that can be widely implemented and that actually will work.

I recently read the following article:

Steady progress is occurring in the development of computerized machines (including robots).

I found the following article to be quite interesting:

I started my day by reading some articles about failures of our educational system. An article on science educatoin caught my eye::

Vergano, D. (7/20/2011). National Academies Call For Science Education Makeover. USA Today. Retrieved 7/20 2011 from http://content.usatoday.com/communities/sciencefair/post/2011/07/national-academies-call-for-science-education-make-over/1.

I read a lot, and I pay special attention to articles such as the following:

Otterman, Sharon (6/14/2011). College-readiness low among [NY] state graduates, data shows. New York Times. Retrieved 6/16/2011 from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/15/nyregion/37-of-new-york-graduates-meet-college-readiness-standard.html?_r=1.

I recently read the following article:

Begley, S. (1/24/2011). Why Almost Everything You Hear about Medicine Is Wrong. Newsweek’s Education Site. Retrieved 6/1/2011 from http://www.newsweek.com/2011/01/23/why-almost-everything-you-hear-about-medicine-is-wrong.html.

Many of us are aware of the amount of time and student effort going into testing at state and national levels. It certainly would be pleasing to see evidence from high-quality research studies showing that this testing of students is good for students, teachers, parents, our school systems, our states, and our nation. Unfortunately…

If you are bothered by this over-emphasis on testing, you will enjoy the following ASCD blog entry:

Palmer, Erik (4/8/2011). Testing 1 2 3. ASCD edge. Retrieved 4/11/2011 from http://edge.ascd.org/_Testing-1-2-3/blog/3446034/127586.html.

Over the years, our federal government has made a variety of efforts to try to improve this country’s educational system. Over the past decade, “No child left behind” has been the rallying cry. However, this has not been a very successful approach.

Here is a reference that I am drawing on for this IAE Blog entry:

Anderson, Nick (3/10/2011). Most schools could face 'failing' label under No Child Left Behind, Duncan says. The Washington Post. Retrieved 3/16/2011 from http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/03/09/AR2011030903089.html?hpid=moreheadlines.