da Vinci

[HPNFlyGirl]

My friend did a powerpoint presentation on Leonardo da Vinci, and I didn't know how much he was into aviation. So I actually learned something in class the other night.


"Feathers shall raise men even as they do birds, toward heaven; that is by letter written with their quills."
- Leonardo da Vinci

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[infotango]

Yeah, and I've heard that one of his machines would have flown if he had only had access to a modern lawnmower engine. Probably one of his ornithopters, I can't imagine those airscrew looking things being able to take off.
Neat stuff!

 

[fgcason]

Yeah, and I've heard that one of his machines would have flown if he had only had access to a modern lawnmower engine. Probably one of his ornithopters, I can't imagine those airscrew looking things being able to take off.
Neat stuff!

There's a PBS Nova special where they actually took one of his glider drawings and built it as close to his design as they could figure out. It worked. It wasn't the most stable or controllable thing in existence but it flew down the hill with someone hanging under it rather well for a first attempt.
Not bad for a 500ish year old design. It makes you wonder where we would be today if we had that 400 year head start in practical flight...assuming they don't burn us all at the stake for witchcraft.

 

[HPNFlyGirl]

At 1st I didnt like history but now I do.

 

[fgcason]

At 1st I didnt like history but now I do.

I still don't like history in the classroom. BBBOOORRRIIINNNGGG!!!
OTOH growing up taking vacations especially up and down the East coast, it took at least two people to drag me out of the same exact historical places teaching the same basic information that bored me to tears while sitting at a desk.

IMO: It's all about how it's delivered...and being consistently accurate helps a lot too.

 

[ausrere]

I still don't like history in the classroom. BBBOOORRRIIINNNGGG!!!

If they had the History Channel when I was in school, I'd have scored a LOT higher in History! Love that channel.. as well as Discover, Science Channel, The Learning Channel etc. Those channels should be required viewing for High School kids, IMHO. Much better than listening to a boring lecture on the subjects.

 

[ScottM]

I still don't like history in the classroom. BBBOOORRRIIINNNGGG!!!

Depends on the teacher and sometimes the student. In college I had a great history prof. who was able to create and atmosphere of excitement when talking about history. It was the begining of my interest in all of history that has yet to wan. Having had the typical American history classes in HS, where they drone on about the Boston masacre, and the rum-slave-sugar circle I was not looking forward to his class. All that had been required before was to read and spew forth the facts as presented. In his class he asked us to analyse how those actions affected people today, how they transformed the world, and how they personally affected us. Instead of just reading about facts you started wondering what a person in history was thinking. It made it very interesting for me.

But not all of it is the profs fault. In JHS I don't think I was ready to hear some of the stuff they were telling me. I had a social studies teacher that was a fine story teller. He wanted to cover a unit on WW2. He brought in items he had collected when he was a soldier. He had gotten Nazi flags, stamps and the like. But the real treasure was his collection of silverware from Herman Goring's house and Adolf Hitlers personal glassware. He had gotten these at the Eagle's Nest when he and his unit were the first Americans there. Ho hum I thought. My dad has a bunch of that stuff and I never really became anymore interested. It turns out he was one of those guys in the HBO series Band of Brothers. What a doofus I am for not being more attentive, and what a missed opportunity. I was 12 at the time and I chalk it up to youthful ignorance.

OTOH growing up taking vacations especially up and down the East coast, it took at least two people to drag me out of the same exact historical places teaching the same basic information that bored me to tears while sitting at a desk.

I still love this as well. Helps me to see what I have read about. Last year I visited Pompeii and Rome, really helped in picturing how the Romans lived.

IMO: It's all about how it's delivered...and being consistently accurate helps a lot too.

I agree 100%

 

[fgcason]

Depends on the teacher and sometimes the student. In college I had a great history prof. who was able to create and atmosphere of excitement when talking about history.

I had one of those in a HS gov't class. 2nd hour, always late to 3rd hour. Why? Because we kept going after the class was over because it was fun and no one wanted to leave. Class always started early when the first person walked in the room. The same can't be said about the monotone drone facts types. I had one of those in college it took all my effort just to get through the class. I'll be the first to admit I'm not the most attentive sometimes and history isn't on my list of must have PhD subjects but that voice and glazed over look was just horrid.

On a side note, we asked the gov't teacher why he thought his oddball method of teaching was better than the accepted way of teaching history. I can't recall his exact wording however he said something along the lines of 'If you're not excited about a subject you're in the wrong field of study and should get out. And if you can't convince your students the Red Coats are about to storm through the door and start shooting and hanging the treasonous upstarts in the room they will never get the significance of what happened and why it's so important.' He also made a comment about the learning and unlearning. Fun = learn. Unfun = unlearn as in actually removing information from someone's head. He was a weirdo but he was a fun weirdo and we learned.

Instead of just reading about facts you started wondering what a person in history was thinking. It made it very interesting for me.

I still love this as well. Helps me to see what I have read about. Last year I visited Pompeii and Rome, really helped in picturing how the Romans lived.

The hero's, politicians, war winners/losers, grand scheme stuff is interesting in it's own way however I think what I like most about history is the individual level type stuff. Castles are great but the old run down falling apart forgotten cottage that shows how people actually lived day to day and why they did what they did gives you a direct personal connection to the past.

Speaking of history, if the weather holds in the high country, I think I may go to a mostly unknown 100+ year old gold mine this week where I'd be highly advised to watch my step and wear my motorcycle helmet when I walk into the mostly untouched buildings.