Better Explained

Topics: Math; Programming
Explanation Quality: Better
Medium: Text; Pictures
Type of Content: Educational

Better Explained is a blog whose motto is "Learn right, not rote." I stumbled across it one day while trying to get a better understanding of the number e. (If you want to know what e is, check out the article on it). My experience with e in school was that it was a number that showed up a lot with exponents and logarithms. No one really explained where it had come from. The article I found on Better Explained really helped me understand. It took the explanation one step at a time, using graphs to approach the idea that e is the base for continuous exponential growth.

The thing I like best about this blog is that it helps you get a sort of intuition. The writing style is friendly. The author, Kalid, uses words and pictures as well as math to help you get a sense of what he is explaining.

From the BetterExplained article on Bayes Theorem

The blog has about 61 articles talking about math, with the topics ranging in complexity from arithmetic to vector calculus. But all of them are readable, no matter what your level is. There is also a section on programming and web development. I haven't looked at this part much (I do want to learn more about computers, but that's a goal for next summer when I have more time). From what I have seen, the explanations look similar to those in the math section. There are also some articles with tips on doing some computer things like working with Ruby on Rails and debugging.

This blog is worth checking out if you have a specific topic you don't understand, or if you're bored and want to see a new way of looking at something.

Scientific American

Topics: Science (Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Linguistics, Computer, etc.); Engineering
Explanation Quality: Best
Medium: Print, Graphics
Type of Content: News

Scientific American is my favorite magazine. I've been subscribed for the past three years. I always get really excited when I see that it has arrived in the mail. Every month the have several feature articles on some new, recent topics. Occasionally, the article is themed and all the featured articles are related. For example, the September 2013 issue is all about food - looking at it from nutritional, ecological, and historical perspectives, among others.

They also have specific columns every month, such as the Science of Health and TechnoFiles. I really enjoy SA because it has a nice variety of articles, and I can learn things in fields that aren't my main interest. I also find it convenient that I can bring a magazine with me to read when I don't have internet.

It is also a very reliable source. I don't need to bring my usual skepticism when reading SA because the writers of the articles are (for the most part) scientists who were involved in the research. 

If you can't subscribe yourself, see if your library does. It is also worth checking out their website as they have some full articles there as well.

EdX

Topics: All (Business, Sciences, Philosophy, Economics, Engineering, History, Law, Humanities, etc.)
Explanation Quality: Best
Medium: Video, Text, Powerpoint, Interactive exercises, Problem Sets
Type of Content: Educational

EdX is a collection of free Massive Open Online Courses (MOOC's). If you've never heard of them, MOOC's are courses (normally college courses) that anyone, anywhere can take as long as they have access to the internet. Carnegie Mellon University's Open Learning Initiative is another example of them. However, there are a few key differences. One is that edX currently offers a total of 50 courses from13 different schools. If a course has already finished running, many still allow you to look through the lectures and notes. Most courses will give you a certificate of mastery upon completion. Overall, these are more like taking a real college course, just online.

A screenshot from my Quantum Mechanics class

I am currently signed up for a class on quantum mechanics from The University of California, Berkeley. It runs for 10 weeks. 8 of those weeks are classes, one is a midterm, and one is a final. Every Saturday the material for the next week is released. This is two video lectures (though each is broken up into smaller segments), a copy of the course notes, and a set of homework problems. If you want credit for the homework, it has to be completed by the next Sunday. You can audit any course and simply watch the videos and read the notes, but if you want a certificate, you need to get at least a certain grade. In my course this is an 80%.

There are several other helpful features. The discussion forum is really helpful if you don't understand something. There are also TA's who occasionally post hints or other useful information. In other courses, there can be interactive labs. For example, some chemistry courses have a molecule editor which allows you to "create" molecules in order to answer questions, or just get a feel for how things work.

So far, I really love this site. If you want to learn a new subject, this is definitely a good place to check out. Not all of the courses are entry level though. Each will state its prerequisites on its main page. For example, my course requires knowledge of linear algebra to complete. But it is still worthwhile to check around, even if you don't have anything in particular you want to learn. You map find something that surprises you.

Princeton Journal Watch

Topics: Science
Explanation Quality: Best
Medium: Text
Type of Content: Research, News

Princeton Journal Watch is a blog about research conducted at - you guessed it - Princeton University. Each post gives a description of a recently published research article. They seem to come from all the (science) departments of the university. It is a good way to see what new discoveries are happening. The other great thing about it is that all the posts are written so that a layperson can read them. In other words, even if you don't have background in the topic, you will still understand what the research was about. A lot of the things are really interesting. To get an idea of the type of stuff they have, they last few posts they wrote (at the time of my writing this) are: "Princeton Researchers Use Mobile Phones to Measure Happiness"; "How Will Crops Fare Under Climate Change? Depends on How You Ask"; and "A Faster Vessel for Charting the Brain". All the posts link to an abstract of the article. The only downside is you (usually) can't read the full article without buying it. But I don't mind, because I don't have the background to understand the actual articles anyway. So overall, it's a good place to go for some easy to understand information on complex topics.

HyperPhysics

Topics: Physics, Math
Explanation Quality: Best
Medium: Text
Type of Content: Teaching Material

HyperPhysics is an interactive concept map. You can either search a specific topic, or just find it by following the path. One thing I really like about it is that if in the explanation of a concept, if they use a word for another concept you don't understand, you can follow the link from that word to an explanation of that idea. I find this really convenient.

None of the explanations are very long. They are in nice, manageable chunks. The information is also trustworthy, as it comes from Georgia State University. In general, information that comes from university websites is accurate.

There is also a small side branch of HyperPhysics called HyperMath. It is not as complete of a resource as HyperPhysics is, but can still be useful.

Khan Academy

Topics: Math, Science, Economics, Computer Science, Humanities
Explanation Quality: Better
Medium: Video, Practice Problems
Type of Content: Teaching Material

Many of you have probably already heard of Khan Academy. It is a website offering short videos and practice problems in a variety of subjects. It was originally created to help the creator tutor his cousin over the internet. The videos feature someone (in many it is the founder Sal) giving a short (under 20 minute) explanation while writing it out on the video screen.

There are videos in economics, math, history, and the sciences. There are only practice problems in chemistry and math, but the difficulty ranges from telling time to calculus. I find the practice problems very helpful. The videos are good too. He attempts to explain each thing in several ways, and does examples in the videos. I have one minor problem with them: I often watch videos to review something from class or to compile all the bits I have learned from different sources. So parts of the video are new things/things I didn't understand, and parts I already know. I end up not wanting to watch the parts I already understand, but I don't want to skip forward in case he mentions something else new. But as I said, this isn't really a big problem.

If you make an account, watching videos and doing problems earns you points and achievements which is a fun additional motivator. They also show stats of how much you have been working on skills or watching videos. Personally, I love things that chart my progress.

If you are a parent/teacher/helpful older sibling, you can monitor your child/student/younger sibling's progress. I have my little sister's account registered as a child account under mine so I can make sure she is still doing work over the summer. When I see that she hasn't done her tasks for the day (she is supposed to learn one skill of her choosing every day to make sure she is doing something educational with her time) I can then react appropriately. But don't worry, you don't need a coach or mentor to use this site. It is good for anyone who wants to learn something.

Sci Show

Topics: General Science
Explanation Quality: Best
Medium: Video
Type of Content: News, Teaching
 
SciShow is a youtube channel run by Hank Green. It posts several different types of videos. There is a weekly video with science news. There are shorter videos on a variety of interesting topics - my favorite is on Non-Newtonian fluids. These offer a quick overview of something.

There are also longer videos which offer more information. My favorite one of those is on epigenetics. Basically, this channel is a good place to learn a bit about a random topic. If you have something specific you want to know about in mind this might not be the right place, but if you just want to keep updated on what's happening in the world, or don't care what you learn about, then this is the place for you. This is not to say that SciShow won't help you if you are trying to learn about a specific topic. I was able to use one of their videos in a presentation on radiation.

The videos are always easily understandable, and normally humorous as well. So go check it out!