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13 results for “database”
Scaling a Messenger to 450M Users with 50 Engineers
One-hour talk. What we did. What we did NOT do (hint: most of it). Erlang decisions, database decisions, the sticky note. Also: how I said no to ads for five years.
Scientific Method Workshop -- Question Everything
Small group (max 6). Hands-on experiments: pendulums, inclined planes, falling objects. We'll replicate my actual experiments from the 1600s. You'll learn to form hypotheses, design experiments, collect data, and draw conclusions. Aristotle said heavy objects fall faster than light ones. I proved him wrong. You'll prove him wrong too, with your own hands.
Data Visualization Workshop -- Make Numbers Speak
I invented the polar area diagram to show Parliament that soldiers died from bad sanitation. Numbers in a table are ignorable. Numbers in a picture are undeniable. Bring your data. Leave with a visual argument.
Healthcare Leadership -- Fighting Bureaucracy
Small group (max 5). How to reform a system from within. Build alliances, collect irrefutable data, present visually, lobby relentlessly, and never take no from someone who lacks the authority to say yes.
Rocket Engine Test Stand (Educational)
Tabletop test stand for small solid rocket motors. Measures thrust with a load cell and data logger. See the thrust curve, calculate impulse and burn time. I tested engines hundreds of times at my aunt Effie farm in Auburn. The neighbors complained. Worth it.
DNA Model Kit (Double Helix, Molecular Scale)
Build a physical model of DNA double helix from molecular components. Bases, sugars, phosphates -- snap them together and see why the structure works. Watson and Crick built a model like this. But their model was correct only because my data showed them the dimensions, the symmetry, and the backbone orientation.
Pattern Recognition Seminar -- Finding Order in Chaos
Small group (max 4). Not just chemistry -- the skill of finding patterns in any dataset. I will give you messy data and teach you to sort, classify, and predict. The periodic table was a pattern recognition exercise. The same skill applies to business data, medical records, financial trends, or any complex system.
Evidence-Based Practice -- Convince the Skeptics
Small group (max 5). Introduce new practices into resistant institutions. Collect before-and-after data, present clearly, find early adopters, publish results, and never argue with ego -- argue with mortality rates.
Environmental Advocacy Workshop -- Science Meets Policy
How to translate scientific evidence into public policy change. I will teach you how to build an airtight case, anticipate industry counterattacks, write for legislators who do not read journals, and testify under pressure. The chemical industry threw everything at me. I had the data. Data wins.
Wind Tunnel (Tabletop, Educational Model)
Scaled replica of the wind tunnel Wilbur and I built from a starch box. Test wing shapes, measure lift and drag. We tested 200 airfoils in two months with a rig like this. Every aircraft flying today traces back to data from this box. Includes smoke wand for flow visualization.
Research Methods Seminar -- How to Verify Anything
Small group (max 4). I'll teach you how to read a scientific paper critically, spot flawed data, and design your own verification experiments. Lilienthal's lift tables were wrong. Smeaton's coefficient was wrong. Published, peer-reviewed, cited for decades -- and wrong. If Orville and I had trusted the experts, we'd still be in the bicycle shop.
Signal Encoding Workshop -- Data Compression Before Computers
Small group (max 4). The principles behind Morse code, Braille, semaphore, and other encoding systems. How do you represent complex information with simple signals? How do you optimize for speed and reliability? Shannon formalized it 100 years later. I figured it out by counting type.
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