Kobojunkie:

Sigh!

Honestly, I think it is a good idea but not a great idea. Making public license-free copies of texts will not necessarily solve the main problem I see here. I mean it will maybe increase circulation of better fake books but I see it also creating some problems that might come back to bite us in the butt later on.

For one it requires supporting bootleggers with no guarantee that there will be a serious reduction in costs for the end users. If paper and ink costs do not follow suit(fall), I am not certain that a digital copy will save the day here.

Economics and the free-market alone will drive down the costs of books. And I'm not just speaking abstractly here, that is the way Nigeria is for things which have been turned into commodities. I want to turn textbooks into a commodity like garri or peanuts, not a luxury item.

Also, have we considered the effect this may have on business for the reputable printing companies we have in the country? I am referring to companies that have for years fought against the flooding of markets with bootlegged books. Isn't it possible this will move will force some of them to finally close shop?

How it will affect them? It isn't their copyright being violated, is it? In fact, if they want to get in and print, they can also join. I wont be flooding with bootleg books, I'll have chosen these specific books as the standards for Ekiti State education. And it just so happens that they can be freely downloaded online, without royalty, fee, or any cost.

Do go ahead and fill us in on how it goes. I would definitely love to know.

Yeah, I'll think about it further and see if there are any flaws. But if/when it progresses, I'll let you all know.

I am serious about wanting to get updates on this as I am interested in getting books in to the hands of our students. I am more partial to projects geared at stocking up our libraries and getting people to understand that it is out there for them to take advantage of.  I want to partake in projects that educate the public on how it behooves them to actually take their future into their own hands, rather than wait for such a time as we get the education system working better than it is today.

;Dcool
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@Kobo

That's what i have been trying to let him know, does he want Macmillan to close shop?  We should look into multiple publishing licenses and set a price control mechanism in place that you cannot sell below or above a certain price. Make the incentive so low for piracy to be considered.

DapoBear:

Ah, that is the beauty of it. Generally the authors are professors, academics, not money-grubbing billionaires. They aren't out to make huge money here from their books. Moreover, they will not be dogmatic about extracting a pound of flesh for a calculus book that is ten years out of print. Like I said earlier, there is company called Dover Books that buys up the rights to out of print math books and resells them at very low costs. That is their entire business. If you think about it, a calculus book from the 80s is just as good content-wise as one printed now; the amount of advancement in very fundamental areas like that is very small. Yet Dover is able to sell you a reprint of the 80s calculus book for $8-15 bucks, versus paying $100 for a new calculus book written recently.

For a non-profit cause such as this, which aims to improve the education levels in Nigeria, it would not be very difficult to convince the professors and publishers to open-source such textbooks.

Now i am getting your point, it is a very good idea and i think it should be accessible to anyone and not the cheap printers. Let me ask you this, don't be offended please, i have also been away from Nigeria for a long time. How long have you been away from nigeria and what do you know about the reading culture?  When i was still there we have these mentality of only reading recommended textbooks and that is if you can even afford it. I am sorry but except for few or those who come from education oriented families, nigerians don't have the zeal to read anything that comes their way.

The mentality is to just read something and pass, the society does not reward handwork but the end result and it does not matter how it was done. I can speak for myself and walked kilometers to read in libraries and walk from ebute metta to lagos island, yaba and ojuelegba  to look for cheap textbooks and anything to be educated. But these mentality is not widespread, i was advocating for the recommended books and not just cheap access to books at first. It will do you good first to make the recommended books cheap before trying to shove other books in their face.

Trust me go to any secondary school in Nigeria and ask arts students how many novels they have read or commercial students how any different textbook they have read. Even the recommended one self na wahala, most are just inching towards examination malpractice at the end of the day.

Pharoh:

When i was still there w[b]e have these mentality of only reading recommended textbooks and that is if you can even afford it. [/b] I am sorry but except for few or those who come from education oriented families, [size=14pt]nigerians don't have the zeal to read anything that comes their way. [/size]

[size=14pt]The mentality is to just read something and pass, the society does not reward handwork but the end result and it does not matter how it was done.[/size] I can speak for myself and walked kilometers to read in libraries and walk from ebute metta to lagos island, yaba and ojuelegba  to look for cheap textbooks and anything to be educated.

Trust me go to any secondary school in Nigeria and ask arts students how many novels they have read or commercial students how any different textbook they have read. Even the recommended one self na wahala, most are just inching towards examination malpractice at the end of the day.

YOU READ MY FREAKING MIND!!!   


I was discussing this just two days ago with my siblings! How it seems even in the western world, this mentality DOES NOT leave us.  Everyone wants to attend Ivey league schools and graduate with a 4.0 but these same never really turn out to be just as good in their respective fields. As soon as they leave the school, you realize they are not as skilled as their grades would pretend to show. Same in Nigeria.

I spent most of my saturdays growing up at the Ebute Library in Ikorodu. Most all of my classmates back then never knew there was any such in Ikorodu. Matter of fact, the library was next to EMPTY every day of the week. I didn't really find it odd since it meant I could get any book I wanted and didn't have to wait to get the next book. But you are right  . . . it is the way things work.

Pharoh:

@Kobo

That's what i have been trying to let him know, does he want Macmillan to close shop?  We should look into multiple publishing licenses and set a price control mechanism in place that you cannot sell below or above a certain price. Make the incentive so low for piracy to be considered.

How will I be hurting Macmillan? Also, price controls are not a good idea (and difficult to enforce, anyway.)

Now i am getting your point, it is a very good idea and i think it should be accessible to anyone and not the cheap printers. Let me ask you this, don't be offended please, i have also been away from Nigeria for a long time. How long have you been away from nigeria and what do you know about the reading culture?  When i was still there we have these mentality of only reading recommended textbooks and that is if you can even afford it. I am sorry but except for few or those who come from education oriented families, nigerians don't have the zeal to read anything that comes their way.

I grew up here in the US, on the east coast and south, so don't know much about the reading society. I know that in my own village and state they love to read books, though. But don't know much about other places.

The mentality is to just read something and pass, the society does not reward handwork but the end result and it does not matter how it was done. I can speak for myself and walked kilometers to read in libraries and walk from ebute metta to lagos island, yaba and ojuelegba  to look for cheap textbooks and anything to be educated. But these mentality is not widespread, i was advocating for the recommended books and not just cheap access to books at first. It will do you good first to make the recommended books cheap before trying to shove other books in their face.

Trust me go to any secondary school in Nigeria and ask arts students how many novels they have read or commercial students how any different textbook they have read. Even the recommended one self na wahala, most are just inching towards examination malpractice at the end of the day.

You might be right. But we should at least try, no? For every lazy kid you know, there are probably ten who cannot afford to buy books for school. Those kids deserve a chance. And I think commoditizing education in this way will give them a better chance.

is this really an invention or ,

DapoBear, Kobojunkie & Pharao,

Oya, make una clap for unaselves as una don successfully derail ds thread.

DapoBear,

There r things d other two people hav been trying to tell u tacitly but u hav missed so far because u r hardly familiar wt d true terrain of schooling in Nigeria.

Ur idea is very noble but d final cost of delivering ur book will end up being higher than d fakes already available.

I had my university education in ekiti state and I can tell u dt most of d typical students can't truly afford d fakes.

Ekiti students aren't different from typical Nigeria students dt just cram d popular textbooks and 'keypoints' to pass exams. So even if after all d wahala u got d books to them for free of charge, many will still not read it. So its a case of apathy and poverty. It's current societal weakness.

Nevertheless, u shouldn't b dissuaded as even though may not mobilize a great mass of scholars, it will surely help one willing poor child. Dat to me, is a great success.

Theoritically, it sounds fantastic:
Initial magnetic flux converted to electricity and then stepped up by a transformer.

In this case ,energy from the magnets is converted and multiplied.
Hmm. . . . . cool.

Beaf expressed some pure engineering views that may have exposed possible flaws in the article but remember that
they did not create the electrical energy from nothing; they started off with magnetic flux and went on to convert and
multiply that energy.

All i can say is ; lets see what the relevant bodies do with these bright kids with so much potential.

^^^

No ingenuity in it. It's not even a generator, it van best b described as a dynamo apparatus.

D dynamo is exited by d.c current from battery of cells, a.c from d dynamo is stepped up on a X-former and outputed.

If demonstrating a dynamo operation is d objective, then successful. If generating electricity is, dn dey failed as they could hav achieved d end result from same output wt less complicated, cheaper and more effective and efficient components.

Nevertheless, kudos to d pupils and shame on their foolish teachers and reporter.

They neither created nor invented a rat fart. The idea has been all over d town for some time.

hackney:

Theoritically, it sounds fantastic:
Initial magnetic flux converted to electricity and then stepped up by a transformer.

In this case ,energy from the magnets is converted and multiplied.
Hmm. . . . . cool.

Beaf expressed some pure engineering views that may have exposed possible flaws in the article but remember that
they did not create the electrical energy from nothing; they started off with magnetic flux and went on to convert and
multiply that energy.

All i can say is ; lets see what the relevant bodies do with these bright kids with so much potential.

Magnetic flux is as a result of motion. No? Flux doesn't exist on its own (that would be a miracle of sorts).
It might be motion of the magnets themselves or from motion of electrons. Regardles, the crux of the matter is where did the energy for that motion come from? And the simple, incontrovertible answer is. . . FUEL!.

hackney:

Theoritically, it sounds fantastic:
Initial magnetic flux converted to electricity and then stepped up by a transformer.
In this case ,energy from the magnets is converted and multiplied.
Hmm. . . . . cool.
Beaf expressed some pure engineering views that may have exposed possible flaws in the article but remember that
they did not create the electrical energy from nothing; they started off with magnetic flux and went on to convert and
multiply that energy.
All i can say is ; lets see what the relevant bodies do with these bright kids with so much potential.

Well Hackney this is just another MEDIA tale created for the benefit of MEDIA JUNKIES who take the tabloid media too seriously.
In the first place you cannot have fuelless generators that work as that would be a clear violation of the famous 2nd law of Thermodynamics and the law of conservation of energy.
Fuel anyway is simply a means by which chemical energy of combustion is converted to electromagnetic energy, heat energy and mecahanical energy.

I'm not in support of all this 'Creation' thing. This is something that's been around for some years. Before crucifying me, please visiti Youtube and type 'Magnetic generator' or 'Fuelless generator' in the search button.

JUNIOR EMEAGWALIS TEACH THEM SENSATIONALISM FROM YOUNG, maybe they will also claim they r the fathers of green technology some day.

P. U. M. B. A:

I'm not in support of all this 'Creation' thing. This is something that's been around for some years. Before crucifying me, please visiti Youtube and type 'Magnetic generator' or 'Fuelless generator' in the search button.

I've been playing with Dynamo designs since Primary School in the 80s.

LOL @ Kravitz.

P. U. M. B. A:

I'm not in support of all this 'Creation' thing. This is something that's been around for some years. Before crucifying me, please visiti Youtube and type 'Magnetic generator' or 'Fuelless generator' in the search button.

There is nothing special about what the kids did, a manual on how to make that generator sells in the open market for about 30k, it may have dropped drastically since the guy that brought out the idea held massive seminars where he taught people how to build the stuff. Walk into success digest office in Esuola str.  Ago palace way and ask the workers when they first encountered the generator. You will be blown to pieces at how old and ordinary the stuff is.

Now to my pains, Nigeria indeed has a curse of bad leadership that is so acute- I wont be surprised at the end of the day, one smart a55 indian or chinese takes this thing home, modifies a bit and ships it to Nigeria to make annoying profits, and trust our dumb a55 govt. to popularize it then in the name of diplomatic non sense.

This inferiority complex that we have really has to stop! Some time in the future, a good business man will be making money of it and probably have a patent on it while the original inventor licks his wound.

This nairaland self, for how long have people been coming here to say they know how to make this thing, it never made front page but two ministers went to see it duplicated by some idea thieves and it makes front page- Seun or whoever is in charge, I'm totally disappointed!

^
With due respect sir, that is a load of tosh.
Are you the journalist that wrote the article in question?

homerac7:

DapoBear, Kobojunkie & Pharao,

Oya, make una clap for unaselves as una don successfully derail ds thread.

DapoBear,

There r things d other two people hav been trying to tell u tacitly but u hav missed so far because u r hardly familiar wt d true terrain of schooling in Nigeria.

your idea is very noble but d final cost of delivering your book will end up being higher than d fakes already available.

I had my university education in ekiti state and I can tell u dt most of d typical students can't truly afford d fakes.

Ekiti students aren't different from typical Nigeria students dt just cram d popular textbooks and 'keypoints' to pass exams. So even if after all d wahala u got d books to them for free of charge, many will still not read it. So its a case of apathy and poverty. It's current societal weakness.

Nevertheless, u shouldn't b dissuaded as even though may not mobilize a great mass of scholars, it will surely help one willing poor child. Dat to me, is a great success.

the bolder part my concern.

the first probelm with the write up is the use of the word generator.


any student of physic should know that a generator is a machine that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy.

it is a shame for the reporter or the school to pass the experiment as a generator.

homerac7:
^^^
While d work of d youngsters is praiseworthy, it should not b presented as though they own d technology. D technology is all over town and is ordinary.
Secondly, d description is most inappropriate, unscientific and mischievously calculated to misguide unsuspecting public. There is nothing as fuel-less engine just as there is no effortless machine. It's a basic law dt energy(electricity inclusive) can neither b created nor destroyed. U only get conversion from a form to another. So if there's electrical energy output, wasn't there input? Is work output over input unity, thereby creating a perpetual motion machine wc engineering laws say r impossible?
D claim as published is plain silly and irresponsible. It's an engineering professional duty to show responsibility to d society and not mislead them. D project is merely a junior students work wc an electrical engineer will b quick to point out its crudeness as cheaper and less moving-part electrical components can easily b substituted for d mechanical parts to reduce wear losses and improve performance. They r only students dt need to b tutored properly and developed character wise. Definitely by teaching them sincerity and not deception or mediocrity.

pls tell them again. shout it into their ear if they don't understand.

Beaf:

^
They meant what we can read from the article and it really is rubbish. And what they meant is that they have succeeded in propagating pseudo-science through the minds of young children.
The whole affair is disgraceful and condemnable.
The able kids need to be taken from that sham environment and sent to better schools. In other countries, that school would be in danger of closing down for hubris, while the principal and staff concerned would never ever be able to teach again in any capacity.

in fact not just the teaching staff, imagine this been a national exhibition where the minister of information and women affairs was present. in fact all universities in Nigeria should be closed down with immediate effect and all our professors in science, engineering and technology given strokes of cane.

god should give them more wisdom and knowledge,

kcjazzlink=topic=554265.msg7199760#msg7199760 date=1290506398:

People are quick to quote science impossibilities, as if when the Wright brothers invented the plane, were scientists not skeptical and proved it impossible? 

scientist had never for once said flying plane was impossible. rather, what they where doing was how to achieve that?

I must commend them for trying to be innovative, bearing in mind they're in jss3 (kids with great minds)

But   the idea isn't original, moreover the generator is being powered by electricity kinda defeat the purpose of a generator.

Logically where does power come 4rm? PHCN, so what happens if there is a blackout? how does it come and stay on or do you want to use a 20v battery. Even PHCN ( except hydro) n battery use fuel

What they did simply put is like a transformer that steps up the voltage 4rm 20v to 200v. duh!  

degzy:

I must commend them for trying to be innovative, bearing in mind they're in jss3 (kids with great minds)

But the idea isn't original, moreover the generator is being powered by electricity kinda defeat the purpose of a generator.

Logically where does power come 4rm? PHCN, so what happens if there is a blackout? how does it come and stay on or do you want to use a 20v battery. Even PHCN ( except hydro) n battery use fuel

What they did simply put is like a transformer that steps up the voltage 4rm 20v to 200v. duh!

. . .And their teachers were too daft to tell them that when you step up voltage, current drops; so, no energy is created (in line with the laws of nature). The foolish teachers probably think that increasing voltage means increasing energy.

evilb rain:

It warms my heart that Nigerians, and secondary school children at that, have built the world's first working perpetual motion machine. They have finally disproved that useless "1st law of thermodynamics" that oyinbo ignoramuses like Einstein and Stephen Hawkin have been bandying about for decades.

i can see that your brain is evil. it was joules that gave us 1st law of thermo with the work done by count Rumford, watts, Einstein takes about mass energy transformation and Hawkins is more concern with radio/astro physics

Beaf:

. . .And their teachers were too daft to tell them that when you step up voltage, current drops; so, no energy is created (in line with the laws of nature). The foolish teachers probably think that increasing voltage means increasing energy.

please tell them again

this shouldn't even be an issue but for some people that are choosing to advertise their ignorance. . .

vizion:

the first probelm with the write up is the use of the word generator.


any student of physic should know that a generator is a machine that converts mechanical energy to electrical energy.

it is a shame for the reporter or the school to pass the experiment as a generator.

Please I think you people who are mechanical engineers, should stop disgracing yourselves. Do you know that iteration is generating something. That fake software that you bought that generate keys is generator.
Nigerian do not believe in themselves if we heard that some little boys oversea we would believe. Tell me is possible for child 15yrs to earn a degree.
If you do not have vision leave those that have, that can think out of the box to do their thing. The limitations is what someone told you, have researched the subject, was not atom the smallest indivisible object a short while ago.

hahahahahahaha ;d ;d ;d ;d ;d, people go get a life, the world is watching our ignorance

insert tribalist rant here - if the kids were of a certain tribe - most of us would be shouted down and asked what have you done in your life - leave our mothers of fuelless electricity alone - bad belle pull her down people

Hahahaha! The same mumu`s who wanted to finish Emagwali for claiming to be Baba for internet now praising Kids that claims to Invent impossibility. What an irony, or is it a confirmation of the most tribalistic group in 9ija.