Marvin Minsky is an American cognitive scientist in the field of artificial intelligence (AI), co-founder of Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s AI laboratory, and author of several texts on AI and philosophy. He is one of the great pioneers of using computing metaphors to understand the human mind. His contributions to mathematics, robotics and computational linguistics are legendary and far-reaching.

Marvin Minsky is the superstar-elder of artificial intelligence, one of the most productive and important cognitive scientists of the century, and the leading proponent of the Society of Mind theory. Articulated in his 1985 book of the same name, Minsky’s theory says intelligence is not born of any single mechanism, but from the interaction of many independent agents. The book’s sequel, The Emotion Machine (2006), says similar activity also accounts for feelings, goals, emotions and conscious thoughts.

Minsky also pioneered advances in mathematics, computational linguistics, optics, robotics and telepresence. He built SNARC, the first neural network simulator, some of the first visual scanners, and the first LOGO “turtle.” From his headquarters at MIT’s Media Lab and the AI Lab (which he helped found), he continues to work on, as he says, “imparting to machines the human capacity for commonsense reasoning.”

2CELLOS – Luka Sulic and Stjepan Hauser playing their arrangement of Welcome To The Jungle by Guns N’ Roses…

Šulic, born in Maribor, Slovenia, and Hauser, from Pula, Croatia, met at a master class in Croatia while still in their teens. Šulic – the younger of the two by a year—and Hauser attended the Academy of Music in Zagreb together, and both then traveled to study in Vienna. Šulic later entered London’s Royal Academy of Music, while Hauser attended the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. The duo rose to fame after their cover of “Smooth Criminal” became a hit on YouTube, receiving over three million views in the first two weeks and more than five million views in all. The creation of the music video was prompted by the cellists’ financial difficulties, despite their musical success in the UK. The duo met in Pula, where one of Hauser’s friends, a director, proposed that they try the pop music market by creating a video to “Smooth Criminal.” The video, originally posted on 20 January 2011, features Šulic and Hauser facing off alone in a large white room, playing Jackson’s tune. In fact, before they became partners, the two cellists were sometimes considered rivals, competing against each other in music contests…

Although the two record covers of mainly rock songs, Šulic and Hauser say they still play with orchestras and will not abandon playing classical music. The cellists say they would someday like to go on tour with both a classical and a contemporary orchestra…

http://www.facebook.com/2Cellos

Directed by: Kristijan Burlovic
Director of photography: Kristijan Burlovic
Camera: Kristijan Burlovic, Igor Burlovic and Boris Plastic
Editing & post: Ivan Stifanic
Technical support: http://www.medvid.hr

Copyright by SONY MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT

Richard Matthew Stallman, often shortened to ‘rms’, is an American software freedom activist and computer programmer. In September 1983, he launched the GNU Project to create a free Unix-like operating system, and he has been the project’s lead architect and organizer. With the launch of the GNU Project, he initiated the free software movement; in October 1985 he founded the Free Software Foundation…

Drawing from some of the most pivotal points in his life, Steve Jobs, chief executive officer and co-founder of Apple Computer and of Pixar Animation Studios, urged graduates to pursue their dreams and see the opportunities in life’s setbacks — including death itself — at the university’s 114th Commencement on June 12, 2005.

Stanford University channel on YouTube

Waldorf Autumn Festival Songs by Jodie Mesler. Play and sing using guitar and penny whistle.

To order go to homemusicmaking.com

This is the story of the AWSNA conference and volunteer work at Waldorf School of New Orleans in spring 2011 which was produced by Maison of New Orleans.

A live performance of Ravid’s haunting lament sung by Jaelee Small at St Ehelburgas Centre, London

Enthralled by the beauty of the Hang’s sound, percussionist Ravid Goldschmidt bought his first Hang at a festival in 2001. He then went to live in the Negev desert, where the stillness and silence provided the perfect environment necessary to master the instrument. Later he traveled to Switzerland to study Hang manufacture and tuning all the while evolving his technique and unique playing style. Ravid is now one of the top international proponents of the instrument, and has developed a variety of playing techniques, producing music that has to be experienced to be believed.

Ravid has performed in numerous international music festivals, concerts and events in locals as far afield as Spain, England, Italy, Belgium, Turkey, Egypt and Canada.

The Lost Tribe from the cd Ravid hang available at https://quantumevolution.co.uk/music/ravid

Play is the heart of the Chicago Waldorf School’s Early Childhood program. Children develop the capacity for creative thinking, problem-solving abilities and social skills through their free imaginative play. In the classroom simple, natural materials—pieces of wood, seashells, beeswax and handcrafted toys—encourage children to form their own games and stories.

Learn more about the program and Chicago Waldorf School

To fully experience the essence of Waldorf education, one must physically enter the classroom, but this video is the next best thing to being there. Produced by Emerson Waldorf School for parents and students seeking a pedagogy that meets the needs of students at each stage of development, Early Childhood through High School, while nurturing the whole student – body, mind, and spirit.

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Waldorf College is for students aged 16 and over who are looking for an education relevant to their interests, that challenges them to take ownership of their learning and has a variety of learning methods – academic, artistic, practical, collaborative. Our College is based in the Centre for Science and Art, a beautiful Victorian building and former Art college in Stroud. Part of the curriculum takes place outdoors, for example, Habitat Management, Environmental Science, crafts such as blacksmithing and tanning, and part of the curriculum is journeys to other countries. The journeys are an important part of the College and involve the students in practical work as well as taking them to extreme environments like Lapland in winter and the Sinai Desert.

We do not have specific courses for people in their twenties though we are beginning? to work with that age group. Our Lighting Fires residential was for 18-19 year olds and it was designed and facilitated by people in their twenties. We want to run more and train people in their twenties in Leadership and facilitation. What are looking for and what are you interested in?

Caroline