Tesla - The Forgotten Genius

Perhaps inventors like Thomas Edison got all the credit for inventing the ubiquitous light bulb, but did you know that the electric currents that run through our homes and workplaces are based on the work of another, more obscure, inventor? His name was Nikola Tesla. His persona was revived a couple of years ago in the film 'The Prestige.' The are two distinct stories that have come down to us over the years about Telsa: one tells the tale of a visionary genius, whose inventions were so unbelievable and ahead of their time that many of them have yet to be put into practice; the other story is one of envy and greed, which motivated his competitor, Thomas Edison, to discredit his work in the eyes of the public. Here are two short videos that tell these two stories (answer the questions that follow): First, a scene from 'The Prestige': And here, a home-made mini-documentary put together in a humourous fashion: Questions: 1. What characteristics about Tesla do both videos emphasize? 2. (First video): What question does 'The Great Danton' (the character played by Hugh Jackman) ask Tesla? What is Tesla's reply? 3. (Questions 3-10 are all about the second videoclip): What three adjectives are used to describe Tesla's childhood personality? 4. Why did Tesla have to abort his junebug experiment? 5. What was Tesla trying to accomplish with the two cats? 6. What 'misunderstanding' was there between Tesla and his employer, Edison? 7. What kind of efforts did Edison make to discredit Tesla? 8. What were the limitations of Edison's direct current? 9. How many patents did Tesla have? 10. What was the cause of Tesla's death? Did he die a wealthy man?

Do you know who she is? No? Well, let's get to know Noomi Rapace. Watch this interview and answer the questions:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZZy6R97c0o
1. How did Rapace prepare for the role of Lisbeth Salander? Why did she feel these preparations were necessary?
2. Is Rapace's English perfect? Can you detect any errors? Do they impede communication?
3. What do critics say about Rapace's performance?
4. What kind of life did Rapace lead as a teenager?
5. What did Rapace not want to do in the violent scenes of the film?
6. What do we know about Rapace's taste in film? Would she accept a role in a Hollywood film? Do you believe her? (sorry, that's me being cynical again).
7. Do you think Millennium is a "mainstream" novel and film (according the video it is not)? What does mainstream mean, anyway? Examples?
Discussion questions:
1. Have you read any of the Millennium books? If so, why so, and if not why not?
2. Do you think Millennium is a mainstream phenomenon or a fringe cult series?
3. How many books do you read per year? How many movies do you see per year? Why do we tend to see more movies than read books? What's more satisfying? Why?

Facebook feud

Meet the real Winklevoss twins, depicted in the film 'The Social Network.'. These are the guys who sued Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and eventually won a settlement for $65 million. Watch the video and answer the questions below. Before watching this video, you might want to get some background on the story here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tyler_Winklevoss 1. According to the assumption made in this interview, whose original idea was it to start a social network which eventually went on to become Facebook? 2. How did the Winklevosses feel when they first discovered that their idea had been stolen, and what did this feeling involve into? 3. How successful were the Winklevosses in 'righting the wrong' committed by Zuckerberg? 4. How straightforward are the Winklevosses about the money they have been awarded by the courts? 5. What is the motto of Harvard and why is it being cited? *************************************************************************************** And in case you haven't seen the film, here's a clip of actor Armie Hammer, who plays dual roles as both twins:

When fiction becomes reality

If you thought this kind of thing only happens in trashy best-seller fiction of the Dan Brown variety, think again! Here's a true story of high-stakes Vatican intrigue unfolding before our very eyes which points to corruption at the highest levels of the Holy See. Watch the short news clip by clicking on the link (embedding was not allowed for this video), and answer the questions: http://youtu.be/CqjGbYK3LLQ......................................................................... Comprehension Questions: 1. What are two functions of the Pope's butler cited in the beginning of the report? 2. What type of behaviour is being exposed at the Vatican? 3. What is the 'papal punchline,' and what genre of fiction is this a reference to? (How would you categorize the tone of the reporter at this stage?) 4. The butler is accused of __________________________ the Pope. (What is the noun form of this verb? (Used in the expression 'an act of ____________') 5. What is the incriminating evidence which has placed the butler under suspicion? 6. How did the butler supposedly benefit from stealing the documents? 7. What sort of intrigues do the documents expose? 8. Where is the butler now? ........................................................................... Discussion Questions: 1. Do you think the scandal goes deeper than the butler? Why/why not? 2. Can you trust butlers? Why do butlers get such a bad rap? 3. Do you think the Vatican is held to a higher standard than other institutions, i.e., do we expect Vatican officials to be less corruptible than politicians?

Don't be a scaredy-cat!

(Embedding was not allowed for this video, so I have provided the link instead, below) The content of this video is astounding. It relates the efforts of two men who are attempting to raise awareness of the plight of the African lion and gather support for their protection. The astounding part is how they go about doing this. Watch the video http://youtu.be/MNQcogZAMAY *********************************************************************************** Comprehension questions: 1. What is the main difference between the two groups (aka prides)of lions? (you need to watch to whole video to answer this question) 2. In the beginning of the clip (in the studio) what does Jay Schadler (the reporter - the guy with the grey hair) cite as reasons why viewers are going to like this story? (give at least three) 3. What unlikely species of animal is sleeping among the lions in the first scene? (What synonym does Schadler use for sleeping?) 4. How does Richardson achieve this up-close relationship with the lions? 5. According to Richardson, what has happened to the lion population in the last decade (what adjective does he use before the word 'amount'), and what is the popular misconception about Africa? 6. What is Dave Salmoni trying to accomplish with the wild lions in Namibia? Why are these particular lions in danger? 7. What kind of dangerous game is Salmoni playing? ('a game of _______ and ______') 8. Back at the studio, what does Schadler say is the final objective of Salmoni's project? ********************************************************************************* Discussion questions. 1. Human beings are capable of some pretty amazing things. In the beginning of the clip (in the studio) Schadler says these two men are 'treading a very, very thin line between courage and hubris.' Which of these two attributes do you think best describes their behaviour. 2. Salmoni seems to suggest that the survival of lions is closely linked to eco-tourism. Do you agree? 3. If Richardson accompanied you, would you walk up to the lions and pet them? Why or why not?

Sane or insane?

The following video is an excerpt from a BBC documentary series called 'The Trap,' created by BBC investigative journalist, Adam Curtis. The documentary explores the concept of freedom in our society, and this particular clip discusses a psychological experiment conducted by psychologist David Rosenhan back in the 1970s. I found it astounding - and quite disturbing. Before watching the clip, read these notes, which will help you to understand the context of the experiment explained in the video._________________________________________________________________________________ Notes: The year was 1973. The US government was not only losing the war in Vietnam, but was also losing popular support at home. Protests and riots broke out regularly in major cities and on college campuses. Interestingly, during this period, there was also an increase in the number of people being detained and admitted as 'insane' in psychiatric hospitals. From this atmosphere of social upheaval emerged voices from within the fields of psychology and psychiatry who denounced the use of psychiatry as a form of political control of the masses. The most prominent of these was R. D. Laing, a Scottish psychiatrist who was living in the US (this is the man you see in the very beginning of the video). Another professional in the field, David Rosenhan, attended one of his talks and was inspired to do an experiment. This video is about the experiment.________________________________________________________________ _______________________________Questions 1. What kind of science is psychiatry, according to Laing? 2. What was the key question about psychiatry that inspired David Rosenhan? 3. Where did the eight participants in the experiment go to conduct the experiment? 4. What 'lie' did each of the participants tell the psychiatrist on duty in their corresponding hospital, and how did they behave otherwise during the interview? 5. How many of the participants were admitted into the psychiatric hospitals? What was their diagnosis and treatment? 6. How long was Rosenhan detained at the hospital and how did he get out? 7. What was the reaction of the psychiatric community when they discovered what Rosenhan had done? 8. What challenge did one of the hospitals make to Rosenhan in order to prove their legitimacy, and what were the results of this challenge? Discussion question: 9. The presenter Adam Curtis says the effect of the Rosenhan experiment was a disaster for the credibility of psychiatry. Do you think a similar experiment conducted today would have similar results? 10. Is there a clear boundary between the categories 'sane' and 'insane,' or do you think the they are arbitrary lables?___________________________________________________ For fun, you can watch this related scene from the film '12 Monkeys' starring Brad Pitt and Bruce Willis: http://youtu.be/EOA3aYRSy_k

On the use of the term 'negro'

As a follow-up to the subject that came up in class, and as a preview to the Martin Luther King interview (see previous blog entry), I thought it would be interesting for you to read this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negro