Languages--Chinese
I watched episode 47 of Travel in Chinese. This episode dealt with going to the hospital and visiting a doctor.
Articles:
I read two Union Tribune Articles and also read up on "speaker recognition" and what makes a person's voice unique.
The first article was about the appeal of San Diego for venture capitalists interested in biotech companies. The biggest one would be less competition since the ratio of venture capitalists in Northern California versus Southern California is around 10:1. Also San Diego has a very large cluster of biotech companies.
The second article was a list of tips to help you either keep a job or get one. Some tips were volunteering for challenging tasks, becoming a mentor, and building upon an established skill set. That is, take more classes in stuff you're already familiar with or ones you're not. This broadens your horizons and makes you more marketable.
The wikipedia article on "speaker recognition" says that two things make a person's voice unique. One is the actual shape and size of your nasal and oral cavities and your articulators (lips, tongue, teeth, etc.) where sound is produced. These are unique from person to person so no one sounds exactly the same. The other thing that makes a voice unique is how a person learns to use those articulators. Based on where a person is from, their articulators could be placed more forward or back depending on the phoneme. This is what defines a person's accent. So now the question is, is the size and shape of your nasal and oral cavities independent of accent? I would think it is. Even if a person affects their voice to produce a different accent, the size and shape of those cavities and articulators isn't going to change. But the difference is very subtle, so the other question is how exactly do you quantify the difference?
Philosophy:
I read about aesthetic value in Dewey's moral philosophy (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). He believed that simply looking at something or touching something is enough of an experience to accurately place a valuation on it. You can pick up a hammer and feel it's weight and how it feels in your hands and infer what you're supposed to do with it. You can do the same thing with a piece of art just by looking at it.
Internships:
I looked up jobs at Double Robotics. They're looking for people with experience working with C/C++ and algorithms.
On job hunting ....
ReplyDeleteThe article keep reinforcing the idea that building a good social network is critical. People learn about other people through word of mouth and they fire people they are comfortable with.
Often, jobs are also spread via word of mouth.
On speaker recognition ....
ReplyDeleteThere is no way we can measure the nasal cavity, etc. of different people. We have to rely on the sound wave itself to determine who the speaker is. Our ears are very good at that.
So the more fruitful question is: How does the human ear accomplish that?
San Diego has a very diversified technical job base: from defense, to manufacturing, to biotech, to wireless, etc. What unifies all these skilled jobs is algorithm and programming.
ReplyDeleteBTW: algorithm cannot be independent of computer and programs. A computer program, when one looks at it from 15,000 feet elevation, is merely a detailed set of instructions to a computer for carrying out the requirements of an algorithm.
On Dewey ....
ReplyDeleteHis moral philosophy is very consistent with his educational principles. Hands-on, is fundamental to his educational philosophy. Which inspires many youth programs - such as Outward Bound.
He is called the Father of Experimental Education.