You will find this post either shocking or obvious. If it’s obvious, you may nonetheless be shocked that others don’t find it obvious, or by how quickly the situation it describes has gone from shocking to obvious. The topic is AI (artificial intelligence) and teaching, which I will illustrate with an example. Below are a … Continue reading AI and exams in May 2024
Suppose someone told you that they were deeply concerned about environmental issues, the consequences of fossil fuel use in particular, and that they would therefore take concrete action to reduce their energy footprint. The action: driving one mile per hour more slowly than usual — 54 rather than 55 mph. You would probably be unimpressed. … Continue reading If you care about the environment, and you don’t care about numbers, do you care about the environment?
This post couldn’t have been written a year ago, and one year from now it may seem quaint and archaic. Still, I’ll write it to serve as a record. As noted in the last post, I taught The Physics of Energy and the Environment this past term, a course for non-science major undergraduates at the … Continue reading ChatGPT takes my Energy and the Environment final exam
The quote in the title is from Woody Allen, and you’ll see below why it’s appropriate for this course recap. This past term I again taught “Physics of Energy and the Environment,” a class for non-science-major undergraduates at the University of Oregon. I enjoy teaching this topic and in some ways this round was better … Continue reading “Eighty percent of success is showing up” — Physics of Energy and the Environment, Winter 2023
I regularly teach classes on energy, environment, climate, etc., for non-science major undergraduates at the University of Oregon. Inspired by some blog comments elsewhere, I thought I’d list list some books on this subject that I like. It’s especially worth noting books aimed at the general, non-specialist reader that are nonetheless quantitative. I firmly believe … Continue reading Books I Like about Energy, Climate, and Civilization
The Eighteenth Elephant 