I'm not against affirmative action on principle, but does anyone else find it a little strange that the need-based grants are only available to female programmers? They could bias the admission process in favor of female applicants (or other underrepresented demographics) without conflating financial issues, right? Or there aren't even enough female applicants without this incentive to allow for that?
I started taking semi-regular walks with friends around town without our phones. The take away has definitely been akin to 'pros' list here, but dodged all the 'cons'.
Shameless plug - We actually set up a website to help facilitate these walks, hoping to get others involved: http://www.OffTheGridOnTheGrid.com/
Not to be a jerk, but "[Copernicus] was forced into it, because it was the only way to make the numbers come out right" just isn't correct.
Tycho Brahe's measurements showed that Ptolemy's model was more accurate than Copernicus's. The point still stands that Copernicus transcended his time, but he was really riding on the coattails of Ptolemy's genius. Ptolemy never gets enough credit...
Contact: noah[at]noahlitvin[dot]com