A Passion for Knowledge

Today I was reading up on a story on the Internet about kid geniuses. All of these kids had something in common, a passion or a desire in their interest. If you were to go way back into the early writings of this blog page, you would read a little bit about Rudy Rudiger or Homer Hickam and Chris Gardner - stories of people who had a desire or passion to do something or improve their lives.

I also want to write about:
Nikola Tesla
or PBS version
Pardis Sabeti A Genetic Scientist by day, Rock Band musician at night. Just two quick examples of people who have a passion for knowledge and life

Since my previous blog was my commentary on how I dont find the state of America's Education shocking. I believe it is because of what is being promoted and perceived as the good life, successful, prestigious, valued (to being a person of worth). What answers would you expect to get if you asked young adults the questions:

What do you want to be when you grow up
What 3 things are the important things to have (among skills, possessions and/or abilities).

For me, there are now many questions I wish to have answered.
Where do we come from? There still is no definitive answer, only theories.
We know little about our oceans and what is under the surface.
We could explore much more in our universe and beyond. It has only been in the past century where we have learned much about space and some much earlier beliefs were incorrect.
Robotics, Computers, Genetics, the Chen Chen Mummy, Medicine, Species, Chemicals, Dark Energy.....

So many things yet to learn, explore, redefine and breakthroughs to be made. But our minds are elsewhere I believe.

If I had wealth, would I spend it on inventions and science? Like Tesla or Edison. Would something inside drive me to keep pushing the limits even to bankruptcy? If I were Bill Gates, would I dilute my billions over the globe? Hoping that these pocket places of hope would grow across the Earth and have humans thinking differently?

If I had Bill's cash flow, I wouldn't spend it on charities. I dont feel that works. It makes great public relations, people love you for it and it will get you documented in some book(s). But I dont think you can save humanity. People dont unite or work for the greater good. Only when they have a common struggle or life threat will people drop their differences and pettiness. Folks around the globe we brought up very different with huge differences in believes and they are not going to get along and more likely to work against each other. So what I would do is start my own little country - maybe even just a city. Focusing on a new mindset and goals for humanity. Using the money to educate and work on space exploration and colonization. Start a new culture on another planet, where the greatest minds and largest hearts from various cultures would set out to make a place truly where "All People are created equal". No Celebrities, No Money system for starters ideas....

The logic being creating a new world if you cant change the one you're in, unless you get drastic and wipe it clean and start fresh. But I do recall a great story called the Robot Boys in a Readers Digest.

Not Your Average Creators
Lorenzo Santillan, 16, sat in the front seat of the school van, looking out at the migrant workers in the fields along the interstate in Southern California. Lorenzo's face still had its baby fat, but he'd recently sprouted a mustache and had taken to wearing gold -- a fistful of rings, a chain and a medallion of the Virgin Mary.

The bling wasn't fooling anyone. His mother had lost her job as a hotel maid, and his father, a gardener, was having trouble paying the rent. He could see himself having to quit school to work in those fields.

"What's a PWM cable?" The sharp question from the van's driver, Allan Cameron, snapped Lorenzo out of his reverie. Cameron was a computer science teacher at Carl Hayden Community High School in west Phoenix, and a sponsor of the robotics club there, along with science teacher Fredi Lajvardi. They had put up fliers offering to sponsor anyone looking to compete in the annual Marine Advanced Technology Education Center's Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) Competition.

Cameron hadn't expected many students to sign up, particularly not a kid like Lorenzo, who was failing most of his classes. But Lorenzo was one of the first to show an interest. He'd been associated with WBP 8th Street, a west-side gang. When his friends started to get arrested for theft, he left. He didn't want to go to jail.

"PWM," Lorenzo replied automatically. "Pulse width modulation."

Over the past four months, Lorenzo had flourished, learning a new set of acronyms and raising his math grade from an F to an A. He had grown up rebuilding car engines with his brother and cousin. Now he was ready to build something of his own. The team had found its mechanics man.

Cristian Arcega, 16, had been living in a 30-square-foot plywood shed attached to his parents' trailer ever since his younger sister demanded her own room. He liked it there. It was his own space. He was free to contemplate the acceleration of a raindrop as it left the clouds above him, hit the roof and slid toward the puddles outside. He imagined that the puddles were oceans and that the underwater robot he was building at school could explore them.

You could read the entire if you become a member at RD, fortunately I had this issue and can recap to avoid signing up and email spam (guessing) as RD does send junk to my spam email account. Its why I have 3: 1 for spam, signups and contests, 1 for just my friends, and one for business correspondence. But back to the story. The robot boys where much like the Rocket Boys in the movie October Sky. Troubled, misguided, uninspired and something click in them as team or to do this science project. IN the end, they beat all the competition, including student from MIT.