An opportunity to make a difference in Education

[MissChristian]

Re: opportunity to inspire learners in the UK, be part of a steering group and really make a difference to education. (for all with any relevant experience/academic knowledge(IT/Computing/Quantum Physics)-working or retired!)

Dear all,
I am a (relatively) new member here and am also a teacher/educator (secondary school) in the UK -South East/Surrey. The goverments new Diploma and STEM scheme (into which they have invested millions) aims to inspire learners to aspire to great things in the world of research (Particularly in maths, science and computing) and it is anticipated that much of this "inspiration" will come from employer engagement which includes people with experience in the field coming in to run workshops (organised by us of course) or perhaps to facilitate a lunch "discussion" or guru lecture. My subject is computing/IT and as you know the world of Quantum Physics is increasingly becoming important with regard to research in Computing and gaining a deeper understanding of how things work/could work! It is unfortunate that most students these days (even the brilliant ones) leave school with little or NO knowledge whatsoever of what Quantum Physics even is!

If anyone would be interested in making a difference in this respect, I would love to have you on board with our consortium and the efforts we are making to inspire pupils to think and understand more about our universe. There is opportunity to be part of a steering group and to really make a difference to education.

Whether currently in the field, or retired (with experience of any sort in anything to do with computing/IT/Quantum Physics/Physics) do let me know!!!

Look forward to hearing from you (contact me via this forum)

Many thanks!!!

[MissChristian]

P.S: Authors/Researchers or anyone at all who would like a bit of publicity for their work can also [mutually] benefit from involvement with education. A popular project we have is a website competition idea (usually for an author or someone in academic research) in which pupils all work to a specification for creating a website for the promotion of a particular authors work/book. This is a great for pupils (Creating something for someone 'real'!) and of course the author himself/herself gets a bit of publicity and a real (usually of a very high quality) website (or website(s) as may be the case!) for next to nothing!

Websites can be flash based (so include animations and custom-made videos) as well as forums/chat rooms - the works!!!

Again, let me know if anyone is interested in acting as a "client"

[MJA]

Hi MC, Welcome to TOE!

It is good to further One knowledge with truth. But as for the uncertainties of theories and faiths such as QM, which is only probability at best, it is better for students to not leave school with any such doubts. Underneath all of that uncertainty lies the most simple of truth. And only with clearity and simplicity will One live to be true.

Be One,

=
MJA

[MissChristian]

Not sure if I understand you correctly. Do you mean it is better for pupils NOT to learn about Quantum Mechanics while in school? If so, I completely disagree!

[MJA]

Not sure if I understand you correctly. Do you mean it is better for pupils NOT to learn about Quantum Mechanics while in school? If so, I completely disagree!

Are you familiar with The Copenhagen Interpratation Miss C? If so, obviously from your response the arguement continues today. I am from the school of thought, much like Einstein, that nature is absolute, and write on this forum about such truth. Whereas the QM school of thought is only probable at best. Good luck with your quantum uncertainty, I'll stick with nature's absolute, or what truly is.
Best wishes,

=
MJA

"Man is the measure of all things." Protagoras
"Nature is truly immeasurable. And there inlies the flaw of us all." =MJA

[austintorn@aol.com]

Again, let me know if anyone is interested in acting as a "client"

Wow, what a deal!

Here are some books of mine to consider:

Austin’s Tennis Tips

Tennis tips, some humorous, tennis play, and stories.

Brain Waves Illustrated

Astounding revelations of the mysteries of the mind and the universe. What is Consciousness and Awareness? Where did the Universe come from? What makes the mind operate as it does? What is Meditation? What is our Destiny? How do the senses work?

Butterflies At the Edge of Forever

Toe Questors from www.toequest.com discover the Secrets of the Universe, as well as the humorously dangerous implications that follow their possession of the Holy Grail of the genuine Theory of Everything. With the world’s future hanging in the balance, they sharpen their wits and skills through the teachings of the learnéd Grand Masters. Extraordinary mixed media color photo composites of tropical and otherworldly scenes beyond compare. Many poems as well. Fun science, too. Much original humor. There is no greater quest than to know whence we came and what we are. Humorous and meaningful. Amazing poems on science between chapters.

Magical Moments

Magical scenes composited as they really could be on a perfect day.

Flora Symbolica Illustrated

The Lore and Legends of the Flowers.140 color-illustrated stanzas of the myths, legends, and facts of the flowers.

Illustrated Take-Offs And Jokes

Humorous illustrations, many of which I made, with the remainder discovered on the internet, mainly those that are lists of things. Much original humor. It took ages to make and collect all these.

Last Knight’s Almanac

The Adventures Following King Arthur’s Demise

Last Knight’s Almanac celebrates life, love, and adventure, in the years following the death of King Arthur. But it also serves as a backdrop on which I can draw literary portraits of many of man’s favorite things such as nature, astronomy, emotion, poetry, travel, history, fantasy, art, and so on. Arthurian legend is the main thread of the story and is also one of my favorite things, so this is important, too. What really happened inth Dark Ages? And yes, it’s true, but only if you wish to believe it, that I unearthed these Chronicles from an iron box that was buried 1400 years ago under the Abbey of Glastonbury.

Magical Revelations

Magical revelations of nature on a perfect day. Part of a series. It wasn’t easy getting birds to pose for me and waiting for a glorious sunset or sunrise, so I used Photoshop to create realites that could be.

Nostalgic Notions Illustrated
The Good Old Days

Illustrated nostalgic art with a paragragh below each. Relive the golden olden days for inspiration and remembrance.

Office Life In Color

The Glad, The Sad, And The Ugly

Life at work-from my observations at IBM and elsewhere.

Rubaiyat Of Austin P. Torney
The Embrace Of The Human Condition

An extension of Omar Khayyam’s Rubayiat into modern times, illustrated on every other page. The Rubàiyàt stuck a chord in me which was already resonating to Omar’s frequency, so, I wrote my own. Somehow, inexplicably, the verses came to me as I lived through all the experiences described therein-for I dared not write of any philosophies which had not been tried and proven. My quatrains, like Omar’s, aim into the heart of life’s dilemmas, offering simple common sense solutions. In this hectic, complicated world of ours we often forget that it is the simple things in life that are still the most enjoyable and inexpensive-for, everyone dies, but not everyone lives.The spirit of Omar’s Persia-fume has reached me, across the centuries, as he had hoped it might, and has overtaken me unawares, inspiring me to live and write, in that order.

Rubaiyat Of Omar Khayyam
Translated By Edward Fitzgerald
& Illustrated By Austin P. Torney

114 quatrains are presented via a merge of the first four editions of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, translated by Edward FitzGerald, and illustrated and arranged by Austin P. Torney. The 80+ illustrations, all in color, are a mixture of ancient and modern styles, ranging from Austin’s own nature compositions to his enhancement of engravings and drawings obtained from very old books. This is the small format deluxe edition and has a few extras beyond the larger edition. Austin has also written and published his own ‘Rubaiyat of Austin P. Torney’. This publication celebrates the nearly two hundred years since Edward FitzGerald was born.

Short Takes
The Stories Of Austin P. Torney

Original Comedy/Jokes, Glorious Nostalgia, Astounding Science, Thought provoking Satire/Take-offs, Gripping Short Stories, Deep Mystical musings, Self-Help, and even a Star Trek novel about Captain Kirk’s saving of the universe and the fall of the Klingon Empire. Plus, the Theory of Everything deeply explored.

The Anti-Word
The Absurdity Of Religious Belief

The absurdity of religious beliefs is pointed out directly, as it must be, but there is also grace, humor, insight, style and the urge to fully live, unfettered by superstition. Long ago, people were thrown out of the tribe for not believing in the moon god, but that god is long gone, along wth the gods of Mt. Olympus and others who had to be relocated so far away as to become invisible. Is our present day God any more real? Is He a leader? Is He a good role model. Should we follow his ways? Was God made in Man’s image? Is it all just a myth? What do other insights have to offer? Lavishy illustrated. (Some overlap with ‘The Guide to the All-Embracing realm of the Ultimate’)

The Poems Of Austin P. Torney

Flora Symbolia: An epic poem on the lore and legends of the flowers as taken by Eve from the Garden of Eden. Color Symbols: Lore and Legends of the colors. Elfin Legends: Lore. The Rubayiat of Austin P. Torney: Extension of the Rubayiat into modern times. Brain Waves: The mysteries of the mind and the secrets of the universe. Misc. Poems: Science poems; Many more short poems.

The Rubaiyat Of Austin P. Torney
The Embrace Of The Human Condition

An extension of Omar Khayyam’s Rubayiat into modern times. The Rubàiyàt stuck a chord in me which was already resonating to Omar’s frequency, so, I wrote my own. Text only. 570 quatrains.

The Secrets Of The Universe
Wherefrom, Whereto, And What To Do

From Possibility, as is the quantum realm, but deeper still, came our account, via the near-nothing of Potential, where the buck stops, for it is neither substance nor nothing. How does everything work-what are the secrets of the universe and what do they tell us? To what shall we amount inside our parentheses of eternity? To know where we’re going, we need to know where we’ve been and what we’re made of. Celebrate your good fortune! This is the large format deluxe edition, with all text illuminated by color plates.

[austintorn@aol.com]

(con't)

The Illustrated Triumph of Life, Love, and Being

An Exploration of the Joys of the Human Condition through the Life of a Loving Couple Engaged in the Ultimate Relationship Across the Centuries and into the Future. Escaping from a monastery-abbey that engulfed itself in the flames of ignorance, such as the one in in the book ‘The Name of the Rose’, they, our ever returning couple, salvage a mysterious book of quatrains that guides them through the joys and follies of the human condition as they live out its words, for the proof of all writing is to live it. So close in thought that they need not even be named at first, our couple takes a picaresque journey through the first part of the book to solve the difficulties of life as they are encountered in their travels through the forested countryside. Alive and positive, it makes you want to run right out and live. Includes the Book of Quatrains and the Journal. Many illustrations. Magical and Mystical.

The Guide to the All-Embracing Realm of the Ultimate

Is it that with grace, humor and style that we will describe all the realms of life, as well as answer the ultimate questions, some via seriously comedic adventures? We will it.

Will good and evil clash, with a triumphant success? Indeed, and in the deeds of grand stimulation and logic.

Is the cause of the universe itself causeless? Yes, and we will learn why it is uncaused, just be-cause.

Did the laws of the universe come from Nothing? Just about, but there is some further ado about this near ‘nothing’.

Does everything amount to a total Nothing except for the quantum fluctuations of uncertainty? Certainly.

Will we disprove the Supernatural? Naturally.

Will we hear tales of DIA events ‘that never happened’? Yes, but please keep them under your hat.

Is it that we are but a shimmering glitter in the eye of eternity, a small parentheses enclosing a dust mote of a rare and lucky event of little significance on the faltering edge of forever… or, that, as our luck has never failed—our joy and innocence will ever prevail? Who the heck knows!

What does the sum total of the information content of Everything add up to? Nothing. Nil. Null. Not a thing.

Will the Earth be destroyed in this story? Yes, but only temporarily and only a few times.

Are these your poems and art compositions? Yes. I, Why? Note that this is not even the shortest poem.

Did you read ‘The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy?’ No, I hadn’t, amazingly, but when someone told me that my book was like that, I quickly read the first ‘Hitchhiker’ book of the series. We don’t really go to many other planets in this book, but there is much earthly imagination and excitement and comedy within.

Do we really learn Everything here, such as what is the origin of the universe and also the explanation of that which produced it. Yes. Really? Yes, for sure.

What is www.ToeQuest.com? It’s a web site where people discuss Everything. It’s fun; come on over and post.

Who are your favorite authors? Victor Stenger, Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, Michael Shermer, Jonah Lehrer, Bill Bryson, Omar Khayyam, Percy Shelley, Dan Brown, Robert Ardley, David Darling, Carl Sagan, Nelson DeMille and all the CIA/detective writers.

Where do you live and what do you do? I am currently retired and live in the mountain of Poughquag, NY, near the Appalachian Trail. I am a humanist who appreciates that science pervades every discipline. I enjoy tennis, writing, fun, humor, thinking, sleeping, poetry, music, dining, romance, reading, swimming and life.

The unSupernatural section is long. Yes, and although it’s quite funny, too, these considerations actually helped lead us to the Super Theory of Everything, so… Thank God!

Does the book get more serious as it goes along? Yes, seriously, for I am first showing the exhilaration of being alive.

You cite some of the ideas of great thinkers. Yes, and I hope that this spurs my readers to go out and buy their books to get the whole story.

The Good Book of the Humanist Bible
The UnWrit Book of Books
Of the Unholy Scriptures
And the UnVarnished Gospel Truth of Reality

The title says it all.

The Illustrated Poems

In progress.

[MissChristian]

Gosh -that many books! I'll definitely promote them when I can! Shame you're not in the UK as we're looking for clients the pupils can interact with.

[austintorn@aol.com]

Gosh -that many books! I'll definitely promote them when I can! Shame you're not in the UK as we're looking for clients the pupils can interact with.

We'll do a video hook-up with iChat or some such. I'd hate to ask SB_UK to pretend to be me.

[austintorn@aol.com]

The book pages are posted here in these galleries:

http://gallery.me.com/austintorney