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Education

How To Teach a Healthy Dose of Skepticism? 880

Posted by kdawson from the doubt-early-and-often dept.
c0d3h4x0r writes "It's no accident that 'whatcouldpossiblygowrong' is one of the most common tags applied by this community to stories about proposed ideas or laws. The ability to spot and predict faults is a big part of what makes a great engineer. It starts with having a healthy skepticism about the world, which leads to actual critical thinking. Many books and courses teach critical thinking skills, but what is the best way to encourage and teach someone to maintain a healthy dose of skepticism? Is it even a teachable skill, or is it just an innate part of the geek personality?"

Comment Re:Capacitors have drawbacks too (Score 3, Interesting) 191

by Ixlr8 (#22629392) Attached to: MIT's Nano Storage Could Replace Hybrid Batteries
Although your point is valid to a certain extent, I think you're exagarating the 'problem' of charge and voltage being proportional. Modern switched mode power converters can do a good job.

Additionally I could see a solution in which not all capacitors are use at the same time. By activating them in a proper order/way, one could make a more constant source that can then be the input for a SMPS.
Mars

Submission + - Thermal IR imaging suggest half of Mars has ice

Submitted by
Ixlr8
Ixlr8 writes: "BBC news is running a story that suggests up to half of Mars may have ice. From the article:

Up until now, scientists had been able to search for water deposits using a spectrometer fixed to the orbiting Mars Odyssey spacecraft. However, only readings that are accurate to within several hundred kilometres can be obtained.
By comparing seasonal changes in thermal infrared patterns, detected by the same Odyssey spacecraft, (scientists)[ed] can make readings accurate to within just hundreds of metres."

Slashdot Bookmarks 171

Posted by CmdrTaco from the well-isn't-that-special dept.
Recently we've added a new bookmark function that logged in users can use to maintain public lists of URLs for tagging and sharing with the world. You can read the bookmark faq to answer a few specific questions, check out the global bookmark lists that can be tagged, journaled over, or submitted as stories. Read on for notes on what we're planning for this.

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