dogfight in medical school admissions

Medical school admission has become a dogfight. In 2002-2013, enrollment in 141 accredited medical school increases less than 22% while number of students to take MCAT (Medical College Admission Test) in the same period increases by a whopping 65%. Nowadays every field is competitive including physicians since 粥不增僧增  On top of that, D.O. (doctor of osteopathic medicine) starts to encroach M.D. residency chances, though D.O. enrollment is not as competitive as M.D.  (In 2012, the average MCAT and GPA for students entering U.S.-based M.D. programs were 31.2 and 3.68 respectively, and 26.85 and 3.51 for D.O. matriculants.)  

vacuum transistor

Moore's law has commanded MOSFET transistor channel length down to 16nm and max. speed up to 40GHz. Physics, especially the tunneling effect, must start to rein in further significant advancement (Well, I'm thinking inside the box). Now, a promising(?) research on vacuum transistor (similar to the old bulky vacuum tube) may push the speed 100X faster or more. Since the extremely short channel length is much less than the mean free path of air particle, exactly what vacuum transistors require, these still-experimental transistors may push computing technology to another unimaginable milestone.  vacuum transistor

Reputation quotients of major companies

The 2013 Harris Poll for the "reputation quotient, RQ(名聲指數)" of major companies. Excellent: RQ>75 Poor: RQ<55. Amazon and Apple proudly take the top and runner-up positions while AIG and Goldman Sachs disgracefully cower at rock bottom.  

Blend Learning model in Innova Schools

To revamp the school system by asking the help from a design company which has done Apple's first mouse and Wells Fargo's recent ATM interface? The design company, Ideo, did create a very successful school network, Innova Schools, by adopting the blend learning model. This model emphasizes the combination of group learning (4-6 students) and individual learning by adopting Khan Academy online resources. To facilitate the blend learning model, classroom walls can be adjusted to accommodate more students or to break up spaces. It seems to be a highly acclaimed educational project sponsored by the Peruvian billionaire , Rodriguez-Pastor.
Innova Schools

Amazon Rising

Just finished watching "Amazon Rising" from CNBC. Always infatuated with any thinking-outside-the-box initiatives from Amazon. Their P/E ratio is several hundreds or even thousands and still is a teacher's pet of Wall Street. They can afford to lose billions of dollar in shipping just to win over customers' confidence. Amazon never hesitates to have strong-arm tactics against their own 3rd-party suppliers by using cunning playbook. And they plan to have 1-hour drone delivery probably after FAA approves commercial usage of drone at least five years from now.  Amazon Rising

Baumol's cost disease

1787年莫札特的弦樂五重曲需五個人彈奏，現在還是需要五個人。醫護人員幾百年前，一次只能看一個病人。現在還是。他們的生產力幾百年來並没有增加 (所謂的 Baumol's cost disease)。但產品生產人員，四十年來生產力就成長了 250%   教育也是 Baumol's cost disease 最常被提到的例子之一。和醫療不同的例子是 MOOCs 很可能改變這幾千年來教育一成不變的 "一對數十個人的局面"，尤其是大學教育。
Wisconsin 大學商學院院長曾開玩笑說 "以後全世界可能只需要四個人教微積分，一個人用英文，一個人用中文，一個人用法文，另外一個人待命在其他人死亡時可隨時接替"

Sotomayor, People's Judge

Pretty impressed by the comments from Supreme Court Judge, Sotomayor, in ABC's "George Stephanopoulos for This Week" in this morning. Sotomayer, dubbed as "People's Judge" commented about her strong support for the affirmative action in college admission and dismissed some of the comments on the Internet against affirmative action as "In the fast-paced Internet world, reporters are no longer reading about cases before they comment on them."   Sotomayor Interview with ABC's Stephanopoulos