Can chess tech change the way we educate?
Why College Costs Will Soon Plunge
By Barton Hinkle - October 14, 2013
My goal,” says the candidate, “is a healthier America. That is why I am setting an ambitious target of sending 1 million more Americans to the hospital in the next five years. To make sure they get there, I am announcing a new, low-interest loan program to help them pay for their treatment. This will ensure that hospital costs stay within reach of the typical American family.”
If you heard a speech like that, you probably would start scratching your head. Sure, people with acute medical conditions need hospital care. But most people don’t have to lie for weeks in a hospital bed to get healthy. And lavishing more money on hospital care will simply drive the price up — just as giving everyone a $2,000 vehicle subsidy would jack up prices for cars and trucks.
Yet this is what politicians routinely propose for higher education: Send more people to college, and give them more money to help them get there. Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell proposed cranking out 100,000 more college degrees in 15 years. Around the same time, President Barack Obama said he wanted the U.S. to have “the highest proportion of college graduates in the world” — which would more than double enrollment. His new higher-ed plan calls for yet more financial aid.
Aid to higher ed already has exploded: In 1964, federal student aid was only $264 million, or $1.7 billion in current dollars. Today, the feds shell out $105 billion a year just in student loans. Total federal aid has soared from $64 billion (in 2000) to $169 billion (in 2010).
Flooded with such largess, colleges have sent prices skyward (tuition is up more than 500 percent over the past three decades) and indulged in luxuries that would have made Marie Antoinette blush, from gourmet dining halls (sushi at Bowdoin, vegan at JMU) to rock-climbing walls. Last month, Virginia Commonwealth University announced the construction of two new dorms that will add 426 beds. Their $41 million cost comes to more than $96,000 per bed. Thank goodness Virginia is, comparatively, fiscally conservative: Princeton recently built a dormitory at a jaw-dropping cost of almost $300,000 per bed.
Trend lines like these cannot go on — and they won’t. But not because of politicians’ efforts to rein in college costs. College costs will drop because of market forces politicians will be powerless to stop.
In his new book Average Is Over, George Mason University economist Tyler Cowen explains why: Thanks to the Internet, you no longer have to sit in a lecture hall to get a superb education. And you certainly don’t have to shell out ungodly sums for five-star dormitories, Olympic-level gymnasiums and sushi bars.
You already can learn a great deal online for free from Wikipedia, TED lectures and so on. That information is unorganized, but many universities have begun offering organized instruction online through MOOCs — massive, open online courses. (Want to take one? Go to Coursera.org.) And “once an online course is created,” Cowen writes, “additional students can be handled at . . . close to zero cost.”
This is tremendously democratizing. To take a financial-markets course from Sterling Professor of Economics Bob Shiller, a poor kid in South Central Los Angeles or Bee Branch, Ark., no longer has to apply to Yale — hoping against hope to get in — and then beg or borrow tens of thousands of dollars a year to pay the freight. He can take the class online. Just as deregulation made air travel available to (nearly) all, online education will make college available to nearly all as well.
Granted, air travel today is much less luxurious than it once was. Won’t technology-facilitated education be equally plebian? The question falsely assumes a student at Big State U. is getting a top-notch education now. And it ignores the ways technology could improve higher ed.
For instance, Cowen writes, “when the best courses serve … hundreds of thousands of students, or maybe even millions, the financial returns to pedagogical innovation will be looked at in a new light.” Imagine writing a killer app that explains the concept of opportunity cost in a clear and entertaining manner: “As a society, we’ll put a lot more effort into teaching things better.”
Changes like this could benefit star professors tremendously, but they might not be such good news for the average instructor, whose role could shift dramatically. At Virginia Tech, 8,000 students a year take introductory math from hundreds of computers set up in a renovated big-box store — with non-tenured assistants on hand to answer the occasional question from the perplexed.
Yet Cowen argues there will always be a place for professors. Some institutions, such as certain Ivies, trade on their exclusivity and might not wish to give credit for courses taken online. Some students lack the self-motivation to learn on their own, and for them the professor will serve as “role model . . . motivator [and] exemplar.” Those teachers could “consult the machines to better understand the mistakes their students are making” and “outline a course for improvement.”
Finally, the revolution in higher ed could hasten the end of the sheepskin as a signifier of intellectual horsepower.
Just look at how technology has revolutionized chess instruction, Cowen says: No longer do you need to study for years with a chess coach to reach the zenith of the game. Aspiring grandmasters now learn from computers and online game play, and merit is all.
“If you’re not a good player,” Cowen writes, “the fact that you studied with a top teacher doesn’t mean a thing. … There is nothing [in chess] comparable to the glow resulting from a Harvard degree: Announcing ‘I studied with Rybka’ [a powerful chess engine] would bring gales of laughter, since anyone can do that. … The company selling Rybka tries to make its product replicable and universal, whereas Harvard tries to make its product as exclusive as possible. Now, which model do you think will spread and gain influence in the long run?”
Before you answer that, consider this: A year of tuition, room and board at Harvard will set you back more than $50,000. You can get a copy of Rybka for about $50.
Source: http://www.realclearpolitics.com
Improved Cognitive Function in Older Adults
Improved Cognitive Function in Older Adults Can Be Achieved with Calorie Restriction, Blood Sugar Management, Says The CR Way
Published: October 14, 2013 2013-10-14T12:50:27
By LivingTheCRWay
OSSINING, N.Y., Oct. 14, 2013 — /PRNewswire/ -- As people age, they often experience memory loss, reduced concentration, and other cognitive problems. Diet and lifestyle, though, can improve cognitive performance and reverse some aspects of brain aging. Consider the world chess champion – chess genius, Viswanathan Anand – who in November will defend his title against the highest rated player in chess history, Magnus Carlsen.
Pundits predict a Carlsen win, based on the recent games and tournament scores of the two players. Carlsen beat Anand handily in their most recent encounter in June. But Anand should not be counted out. He has successfully defended his world championship title many times and is known for his excellent preparation and creative play.
The biggest challenge Anand faces may be physiological. According to brain-aging expert, Dr. Timothy Salthouse, cognitive capabilities usually peak at 22, the very age Carlsen is now. Salthouse finds that on average, by age 28, signs of cognitive decline begin to show up. By 38, signs of memory loss increase.* Most people may not notice these declines until much later, but elite chess players do: Their careers stand or fall on their peak intellectual performance. Anand is 43, almost twice Carlsen's age.
At the recent Sinquefield Cup chess tournament (St. Louis, MO), Carlsen and Levon Aronian the world's top-ranked chess players, joined the two top-ranked U.S. players, Haraku Nakamura and Gata Kamsky, for a round-robin competition. True to Salthouse's findings, the players' scores correlated negatively to their ages:
Carlsen: 22 years old – won 4.5 games out of 6 (A half game results from a draw.)
Haraku Nakamura: 25 – 3.5
Levon Aronian: 30 – 2.5
Gata Kamsky: 38 – 1.5
So should chess grandmasters retire at 23?
"No," says Paul McGlothin, president of LivingTheCRWay.com and instructor of online classes for cognitive improvement. "Science shows that people can get rid of the brain fog they experience as they get older." If Viswanathan Anand walked in the door and asked how to get an edge for the upcoming match, McGlothin would first ask him to visit a doctor and have a thorough physical exam.
With his doctor's OK, one idea Anand would be advised to explore is blood sugar management. Research suggests that keeping blood glucose at healthful levels improves short-term intellectual performance and protects against age-related decline of critical parts of the brain that are important for memory and decision making. Further: A pre-game exercise regimen, planned for Anand, could help him relax and improve concentration.
Who wins the world chess championship may not matter to some people, but maintaining a healthy brain interests nearly everyone. People need their brains to function well for everything from remembering names to excelling at work. The same principles Anand can apply to retaining the world chess championship are helpful for any endeavor.
More here.
Gunina is the Russian Chess Queen again, Svidler - Nepom tie
Final standings
1-2 Svidler, Peter 6.5
1-2 Nepomniachtchi, Ian 6.5
3-4 Vitiugov, Nikita 5.5
3-4 Kramnik, Vladimir 5.5
5 Andreikin, Dmitry 5
6-7 Karjakin, Sergey 4.5
6-7 Inarkiev, Ernesto 4.5
8 Goganov, Aleksey 3.5
9 Motylev, Alexander 2.5
10 Shomoev, Anton 1
On the women's side, Gunina wins clear first after taking a draw in a pawn up endgame in the final round.
Interview with WGM Elisabeth Paehtz
WGM Elisabeth Paehtz is the German representative playing at the Indonesia Open Chess Championship (IOCC) 2013. So far the 28 year old chess player has yet to hit her best form at IOCC. The 32nd place finisher at the European Championship 2013 held in Belgrade, Serbia, feels that IOCC is very strong and even if she is not performing as well as she could she is still looking to get a good result so here is what she has to say.
You won your fifth round game. So what is your assessment?
I won but I did not play well. Both my opponent and I made many mistakes. Now you have 3 points from 5 games. Are you satisfied with the result In the previous round I played very badly and made blunders. In fact I have not been playing well for the last six months and have lost many times.
Replay the games of WGM Paehtz here
Do you find playing two games a day to be a problem?
In Europe we don’t normally play two games a day. Also open tournaments are just rounds. I understand why the organizers have done this. They are hoping for improve the chances for their young players to get norm and so the tournament has more rounds than normal. I think that is the difficult part, otherwise two games on some days is not a problem for me.
So what is your target for IOCC?
I want to be among the top three women.
Is it hard to be a woman chess player in Germany?
I am lucky because my father is a GM (Thomas Paehtz) and he guided me until I achieved success. He taught me until I no longer needed a trainer. Now he trains others and I also now also do training as well.
How was your recent trip to Africa?
I am involved in a project with a foundation in Germany that provides education to children. It is likely that in the future I will continue to be involved in projects like this which involves chess and children. I have also coached a Turkish team and have gotten experience as a teacher.
What do you think of the Indonesia women chess players?
The support given to Indonesia women chess is a lot more than I got when I was young. It is clear that Indonesia have concentrated resources to develop its woman chess players and this is shown by the achievement of the WGM title.
Is this your first time to Indonesia?
Yes. I am familiar with Asia. I have been to many Asia counties. Everywhere in Asia people have been very friendly to me so I was not surprised at the reception given by Indonesia peoples. Asians are warm and friendly unlike Europeans who are a little distant. I like it here, the hotel is good and the food delicious. Also I love Asian food.
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