Paul Walker

Aussie country boy at heart, now a 4x grandad. Retired physicist & educator, helping people transform their experience of learning through learning to draw!

[Paul Walker @ozpiper]

People all around the world are standing with Bishop Budde in the face of Trump's attacks. Sign & RT #HaveMercy #BishopBudde https://t.co/lGVs8WqV6p

[Paul Walker @ozpiper]

The biggest barrier to learning isn’t ignorance or lack of ‘ability’

It’s what you already‘know’, often unknowingly (!)

It comes up in Physics, in drawing, in driving and in everyday life…

The question to carry with you might be “What other ways to see this might there be?"

[Paul Walker @ozpiper]

I’ve found that when you are an expat, you don’t quite belong in either place!

But it’s not a problem

Attachment to a country can be a bad thing, an excuse not to think your own values through

These days I enjoy engaging with the humanity in everyone, anywhere in the world!

[Paul Walker @ozpiper]

Too easy to forget that we're all living on borrowed time

Every moment is precious, but nothing to get precious about

Some things matter more (like being generous) and some things matter less (like being angry about something that will pass)

I need reminding sometimes...

[Paul Walker @ozpiper]

Along with the downsides of getting older, there are some positives...

- There is less need to be concerned about appearances;
- So vanity can take a back seat;
- The little things that used to bother you no longer do;
- So you see things in perspective;

Just passing through!

[Paul Walker @ozpiper]

As time goes by and you get older, several things happen:

- Gravity gets stronger and you have to grunt when getting up;
- People mumble a lot and speak in tongues;
- Memories go into hiding and pop up at odd times;
- Time doesn't dilate, it compresses!

But...

[Paul Walker @ozpiper]

@deep_lucidi_t Even more when you see your children raising their children! Amusing and disturbing in equal measure …

[Paul Walker @ozpiper]

Perfect day yesterday - 24C (75F), clear sky, light breeze

I even went for an evening swim! Very unusual for me…

Today, cooler with clouds and blustery wind - not so nice out.

Reminds me to take each day, each moment even, as it comes…

[Paul Walker @ozpiper]

@healingbelief Mine would be that learning is a creative process that carries on into everyday engagement with your world. You are creating all of it for yourself, and to an extent for others.

[Paul Walker @ozpiper]

Many things amaze me, but I have to quieten the mindchatter to appreciate them.

I’ve just been for a walk on the beach, with the sun making grains of sand sparkle like little winking stars. Amazing, if I let it be.

Equally, I’m amazed that I’m here to see it!

What amazes you?

[Paul Walker @ozpiper]

Fair point, though the original comments claimed it was (leftist) political indoctrination. When I taught Physics, my frustration was their unthinking absorption of content rather than thinking it through.
Even postgrads in my professional development courses wanted spoonfeeding!

[Paul Walker @ozpiper]

The answer is ‘CHABLIS’, a white (wine).

[A word for ‘Tea’ is CHA. Endless pleasure is BLIS(S)]

A good cryptic clue misdirects the solver with its obvious ‘surface’ meaning

You have to think laterally i.e. “What else might this mean?”

It helps you free up your mind!

[Paul Walker @ozpiper]

More lateral thinking via cryptic crosswords:

In a cryptic, you get 2 clues for the price of 1!

1. The definition, like a ‘straight’ puzzle
2. ‘Wordplay’, instructions for assembling the answer

Eg “White tea? Endless pleasure! (7)”

(Hint: “White” is the definition)

See reply

[Paul Walker @ozpiper]

I’ve been told, like it’s fact, that universities are indoctrinating students. Really?

My entire career has been teaching in universities and I’ve never seen any evidence to support such a claim

It was an uphill battle to get students to authentically think for themselves!

[Paul Walker @ozpiper]

Solution is ‘GARNET', which is a stone. GAR is a kind of fish and NET is a kind of trap.

It’s a simple clue, a ‘charade’ of sub-words that tend to misdirect you, so that you need to see through it to a different interpretation.

More in future posts

[Paul Walker @ozpiper]

A great way to develop your lateral thinking is to solve cryptic crosswords

It needs a mindset of ‘what else could this mean?’, besides the obvious surface meaning

Eg “Stone fish trap (6 letters)”

[Solution in comments]

Takes a while, but it’s well worth it the effort!

[Paul Walker @ozpiper]

People sometimes say “Words fail me!”

Words are at best approximate labels, often not sticking as well as we’d like.

Always make allowance for that imprecision

Your gut and/or heart may know better than your head. Listen to them too!

[Paul Walker @ozpiper]

Flying back to Australia today

English people say to me “Oh, that’s a long way! 24 hours on a plane! It’s too hard…”

Nowhere near as hard as 3 months below decks in a convict ship (not that I’ve done that myself…)

We do have it easy these days!

[Paul Walker @ozpiper]

@DC_SciArt What a fun idea! I might try it…

[Paul Walker @ozpiper]

Adult learning can involve going backwards for a bit to improve long term

My go-to example is touch-typing

Most keyboard users have learned ‘hunt and peck’, looking at the keys

This really limits your typing speed

Learning to type without looking starts slow, then gets fast