People

10^9  <  2^32  <  Number of human people in the world  <  10^10 

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The kids have changed

The 90s babies I used to teach had this astrological signature that made them "easy" - with Uranus-Neptune in Capricorn, they respect tradition and order and are likely to love teachers and tradition as a result.  This group was born in the late eighties to mid-nineties and I stopped working at the university in 2016.

Those two planets - Uranus and Neptune - shifted from Capricorn into Aquarius around 1997, signifying that those born in this new influence will collectively or on average be a source of bafflement to me: you can expect them to not want to be painted into straight lines and to not care for any kind of regime at all, to not want to be understood, controlled, refined or contained.

So I won't be teaching for a while.  Really.  There seems to be no point.

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All of engineering and mathematics in two #MindMaps

Map of Engineering, found on mindmapart.com

I like the perspective that engineering is not all "software" and "IT" "tech" but instead encompasses a broad range of old and new staples of human heritage. 

Also that it is not all theory, nor does it fit neatly into the popular academic departments like mechanical and electrical and so on. 
In practice, engineering is interdisciplinary, mingling with perhaps every discipline we have. 

ASEE/Wikipedia - Most 2006-2015 USA bachelor's degrees in engineering are in Mechanical-Industrial and Electrical-Computer

Map of mathematics, found on sciencealert.com

This map of mathematics is not only available as a chart, but also a brisk+dense  youtube video (channel name: Domain Of Science) that I've watched a few times and still don't grasp, but ok, I bet there'll soon be a smoother version.

My other main response was to the final moments of the video - the segment on the "foundations of mathematics" seen here in the top left.  I recall feeling a slight alarm maybe mixed with enjoyment too, at the reminder that all of this is invented, made up, an edifice, merely an image of God, but certainly not all of it. 

Mathematics may not be all there is, but it is a beautiful representation; allows for beautiful representations.  And it is artistic.  And sexy. 

Also, without math, there might be no engineering.  

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Gates into engineering :: on how best to train engineers

Essay 1: Kindly provided by Zeno Gaburro
Essay 2: Kindly provided by t - that's me 

Both are from early 2016 and address questions posed as part of the hiring process at a cool new university in Africa.  Enjoy and critique.

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