# The Great Courses



## Keith Sinclair (Nov 30, 2016)

Anyone out there ordered these? Their sales pitch is to bundle similar courses at large discounts. They had a black Friday sale 80% off & free shipping. I have ordered in the past,

Understanding the Universe- Professor Alex Filippenko Berkeley.

The Nature of Earth an intro. to Geology Professor- John Renton West Va. university

Meteorology An intro. to the wonders of weather- Professor Robert Fovell University of California

Earths Changing Climate- Professor Richard Wolfson Middlebury College 

My favorite class in college was the Geology of Hawaii by the man himself Gordon Macdonald. He was Hawaii's top Geologist in his later years he taught the foundation Geology class. Our text was his book Volcanoes in the Sea. 

It takes a while to go through the longer courses but worth it. I am semi retired so I can treat myself.

I took advantage of the black Friday sale to order:

Bundle- Introduction to Paleontology and Explore Earth's Cycles of Ruin & Renewal.

Particle Physics for Non-Physicists

I like the science for the layman stuff, they offer all kinds of courses. Cooking, Math, Art, Religions, Cultures & much more.


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## gic (Nov 30, 2016)

I buy the audio versions to listen to in my car, usually from audible books where they are pretty cheap (regardless of length they are 1 audible credit which is < $15) They are basically Freshman- sophmore level. Well done but not terribly deep. There are free online courses that are much deeper.. Also the BBC "IN our time" podcasts are also worth seeking out


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## apicius9 (Nov 30, 2016)

Mmhh, the have a 'Woodworking 101' course  Although 'Optimizing brain fitness' might be more needed these days... i have subscribed to the courses on Amazon and I have free access to lynda.com, but I realize I never really seem to have the time to watch things. 

Stefan


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## ecchef (Dec 1, 2016)

apicius9 said:


> I never really seem to have the time to watch things. Stefan


Same here.


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## Anton (Dec 1, 2016)

How y'all have time for these??? I can barely watch 2-3 hrs of TV a month! Let alone a a book, forget a course !

Not sure where this puts me actually...


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## LifeByA1000Cuts (Dec 1, 2016)

There are people that can read faster, and people that can listen faster. The first group hates TVs and just wants everyone to write an email, web article or a book and shut their traps  Often mistaken for card carrying introverts. Even being half as fast as what is considered a "speed reader" puts you well into that group.


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## Keith Sinclair (Dec 2, 2016)

Speaking of TV the NATGEO channel is jumping on the bandwagon for Global warming starting with Before the Flood and a series Years of Living Dangerously. Only since the 1850's we have accurate global temp. readings on land & sea. There has been a steady rise in Temp. and CO2 levels esp. since 1960's. That said temps. & CO2 have been higher in the past between ice ages. Now they use computer models to forecast the next century. If we go on as usual cutting down rain forest for cattle & burning fossil fuels, increasing in population the forecast is not favorable. 

Germany has gone in more for solar more than the US. Here with tax breaks and net metering Hawaii took off with solar panels. Hawaiian Electric had talked for years about clean energy & done nothing. Small solar co's caught Hawaiian Electric with their pants down. They convinced the law makers to allow them to cease net metering on all new installations. They take in the excess power from home solar but new buyers must purchase expensive batteries for night use. Solar has taken a nosedive & small outfits have gone out of business. The Sunshine state Florida is not solar friendly at all. 

Canada has put a carbon tax and reduced emissions some. It is a start. Trump who knows time will tell.


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## brainsausage (Dec 3, 2016)

Keith, you should check out Randall Carlson and Graham Hancock's work on historical climate change trends. Their research on pre-Mesopotamian civilizations is also pretty fascinating.


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## LifeByA1000Cuts (Dec 3, 2016)

What is ... fascinating about the whole global warming debate is that no one wants to say "we need to debate whether and how we should/need CARE about the facts, whatever they are" and swiftly sidetracks it to "we need to debate the facts".


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