Tier III 415A
    Entropy and Human Activity


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    This page will have announcements added, most recent at the top, as the quarter progresses.

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    February 22, 2006

    I have updated the study guide for the second midterm. It is linked from the Bibliography page, as usual, or you can go to it directly at
    http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~piccard/entropy/study2.html


    January 30, 2006

    The Study Guide for the first midterm is also linked from the Bibliography, as advertised in class.

    Please come to the study session Thursday evening prepared to ask questions. As described in class, I will not be making a formal presentation.


    December 22, 2005

    A few points of immediate interest:


    • A Web page is available for providing anonymous feedback to the instructor on any aspect of the course. If you want a direct response, or simply prefer to identify yourself, just send an E-mail to piccard@ohio.edu .


    • Follet's University Bookstore should already have enough copies of the Rifkin re-print. If they run out, let me know and I will put a copy on Reserve in the Alden Libraries.


    • Rifkin, the author of our first text, writes as an advocate for whatever point of view he is presenting. His works are rarely, if ever, "objective" or "neutral." His books include every argument he can think of in favor of that point of view. As such, a perceptive reader will notice that he includes many profoundly weak arguments. Do not let that fool you into thinking that there are no strong arguments in line with his point of view.


    • Grade A Notes assures me that enough copies of Cohen's book should arrive before the assigned readings start.


    • We have an electronic discussion list established for our class. Everyone should subscribe to the list as soon as possible, using the instructions linked in the previous sentence. We will begin using it in a day or two.


    • The direct connection between religion and this course is the variations in the views that different religions {permit | encourage | espouse ...} with respect to how people treat the natural world we inhabit: stewardship vs. exploitation, etc., and how that will, or might, impact future developments of new world views.


    • One of the points of this course is the issue of how we ought tobehave. For example, should wedecide to stop driving our cars when we don't absolutely have to, in order to avoid creating carbon-dioxide, or in order to avoid burning petrochemicals that could be turned into pharmaceuticals? This can be viewed as a philosophical question, an ethical question, a moral question, etc. There are two books that I particularly point to:
      1. Rawls, John, 1971, A Theory of Justice . The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.

        I personally find this book particularly difficult to penetrate, perhaps because my training is in the physical sciences rather than philosophy, and I generalize on the basis of very limited evidence when I say that I suspect that others also find it less than accessible. I have therefore prepared an on-line review , which will be the topic of a lecture during the second week of the course.

      2. Reich, Robert B., editor, 1988, The Power of Public Ideas . Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA.

        The authors of the chapters in this book, although also, for the most part, professors, seem to have a more political orientation. Perhaps that explains why it is easier to read. In any event, I have not yet been moved to prepare an on-line review, but I do commend it to your attention.


    • The on-line Radiation Notes include topics that go beyondthe scope of this course. In particular they include algrebra that you are notresponsible for. Many of the qualitative results, especially those presented graphically, are within the scope of the course. The detailed discussions on the photoelectric effect and source strength determination are outside the scope of the course. If you have any doubts about the nature of any particular section of the Notes, please ask me. The following two points provide more detailed guidance with respect to the parts you should read to prepare yourself for the planned lectures on radioactive decay and on ionizing radiation.


    • The reading for the lecture on Radioactivity (scheduled to be during week six) is Chapter I of the Radiation Notes .

      Parts of Chapter I are outside the scope of this course.

      • Sections D and H should be skipped entirely;
      • In part 2 of section E, skip the math, but read the words, paying particular attention to Figs. 5 and 6;
      • In part 5 of section E, do read the first three paragraphs, includingEq. 9, but then skip the rest of part 5;


    • The reading for the lecture on Ionizing Radiation (scheduled to be during week seven) is Chapter IV of the Radiation Notes .

      Parts of Chapter IV are outside the scope of this course.

      • In part 3 of section B, do read the first two paragraphs, but then skip the rest of part 3;
      • Part 6 of section B should be skipped entirely;
      • Part 2 of section C should be skipped entirely.

      Throughout this chapter, do not worry about mathematics that you do not understand, but do examine each equation to see what you canlearn from it.


    • A couple of points for your presentations:
      • Your in-class presentation should teach your classmates the most important things from the paper that you have read that you can teach them in six to twelve minutes. Don't spend very much time covering things that all of them should know, based on the classwork and reading up to that point. Don't presume that they are already familiar with ideas, terminology, or related results that are needed to understand what you present. This is a tall order and requires sensible compromises. I don't expect you to make exactly the same decisions that I would, but keep both needs in mind. I do want you to pick and choose thoughtfully from among the topics in your paper. Don't just do the first ten minutes worth, do the most important ten minutes worth.
      • Be sure that the type face on any transparencies, posters, or computer-generated displays is large enough to read easily from the back of the room (for computer-generated displays, a minimum of 16 points for the "fine print" with a "sans-serif" face, such as Arial or Helvetica), and also that the type color and background color are quite different (black and white are good choices!) -- reduced contrast makes for difficult reading. Remember that even with glasses, your instructor's eyes are likely inferior to your own.
      • A brief summary on preparing a presentation is available on-line.
      • While presentingusing an overhead projector or a computer, avoid using the lower one-third of the screen, because only those in front will be able to see it.
      • While presentingusing an overhead projector or a computer, look at the projector plate, don'tturn your back on your audience to look at the screen; while presenting using a computer projection system, look at the monitor; in neither case should you look at the screen the audience is viewing, except at the start to verify focus or when using a pointer that does not function on the plate or monitor.
      • When using a computer projection system, with HTML (Web) pages for the presentation's visual aides, use nested HTML lists for sub-points.


    • A few more comments on your term paper:
      • Topic and approach:  there is no requirement for being the only one writing on the topic.

        You do not have to choose sides. I do expect you to show evidence of your own thoughtful analysis of the evidence supporting both sides, which may lead naturally to a conclusion. Don't just say, "these people say this and these other people say that."

      • References:  For articles that are verbatim identical on-line and as originally published, please provide both citations; that is, give the hardcopy citation in full, and then add, "as found at http://etc.etc.", giving the entire URL.

        Otherwise, cite it as you found it.

        You are expected to have at least three references that you found and cited as hardcopy, and at least three that you found and cited as on-line.

      • Outline and sample pages:  perhaps an example will illustrate what I want: 
        I.  Introduction II.  Part One	A.  A Sub-part	B.  Another Sub-partIII.  Part Two	A.  A Sub-part	B.  Another Sub-part IV.  Conclusion

        You are free to go to the next level, sub-sub-parts, using Arabic Numerals, but are not required to.

        The primary issues of the "outline and sample pages" assignment as a whole are three:

        1. Getting you going with both the planning and the actual writing, thereby reducing the odds that you are too rushed at the end to do a good job.

          I don't care whether you start the actual writing from the beginning or the middle. But I do want you to have actually started writing, not just thinking. Some people need that nudge to get going, and I really find it unpleasant to fail people for not submitting a term paper, or for doing a totally miserable job at the last possible minute.

        2. Making sure that I have a chance to let you know while you can still adjust your planning if, for example, the font size or margins are too small or too big.
        3. Catching any writing style issues that surface in the sample, so I can point them out now, and you can therefore be more likely to notice and clean them up for yourself if they recur as you write the rest of the paper.

          I do notexpect polished prose for the sample; that will not be the basis of the grade. I am notgoing to be grading your writing, just seeing that you have written something related to your topic and outline. This is a first draft.


    Dick Piccard revised this file ( http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~piccard/entropy/announce.html ) on the date indicated above.

    Please E-Mail comments or suggestions to " piccard@ohio.edu ".

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