Information Theory

Inquiry Unit

Information Theory

One of the traits that makes humans unique from other animals is our consciousness, the fact that we can remember concrete ideas, both actual memories and abstract thoughts. These brain activities are…

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Electronic Music

Inquiry Unit

Electronic Music

Chances are good that you and your friends don’t get your music in the same way that your parents did. Their generation was much more likely to hear a new song on the radio and go out to Sam Goody's…

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Skyscrapers

Inquiry Unit

Skyscrapers

The symbol of growth in China and India of the early 21st century is the proliferation of skyscrapers. This was also the symbol of urbanization in the early 20th century U.S. How did this come about? …

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Electric Lighting

Inquiry Unit

Electric Lighting

When was the last time you lived without electric lights? Maybe a thunderstorm, hurricane, or blizzard caused a power outage in your neighborhood. Maybe you live in a village without electric lights. …

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Refrigerated Rail Car

Inquiry Unit

Refrigerated Rail Car

Some technology is so woven into our lives that we barely notice it. We go about our daily routines without giving it a thought, yet, were it not for these advancements, our routines would be very dif…

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UAV (Drones)

Inquiry Unit

UAV (Drones)

Almost since the dawn of warfare, armies have sought ways to inflict the most damage on their enemies at the lowest cost to their own troops. Technologies from catapults to cannons have been developed…

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Radio

Inquiry Unit

Radio

The invention of wireless telegraphy-radio-at the end of the 19th century by Marconi and others made it possible to communicate with anyone, anywhere, around the globe. It soon became apparent, howeve…

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Triremes

Inquiry Unit

Triremes

In the fall of 480 BCE, Xerxes, the King of Persia, attacked Greece on land and at sea. While the land battle that ended with a Spartan stand to the last man at Thermopylae, has been burned into the c…

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Early Maritime Navigation

Inquiry Unit

Early Maritime Navigation

The open sea is a never-ending desert of water – the same in all directions. How did ancient mariners cross the ocean without GPS? The principles behind “modern” innovations used by our GPS-enab…

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The Printing Press

Inquiry Unit

The Printing Press

The Arab Spring, Black Lives Matter, the 2016 Presidential Campaign, are all recent events, which were driven by social media. Though Twitter was only recently invented, the movement of technology-dri…

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