Google Thanks Every Teacher on Earth for Helping Kids Discover the Worlds Beyond

Google thanks "every teacher on Earth" for inspiring students to reach for the stars in this clip that uses space exploration and astronomy as its central theme.

Space is a great fit for Teacher Appreciation Week because the best teachers, regardless of the subject, take us on bold journeys and open vistas filled with wonder. The ad notes that gazing at the night sky is like looking into the past (since starlight takes an immensely long time to reach Earth). By presenting limitless possibilities, teachers unlock our minds and give us glimpses of our future selves.

Of course, Google resources are touted, but it works in context, and the company did give something back, donating $340,000 this week to fund every classroom request made by teachers in Atlanta on DonorsChoose.org.

The spot risks a snag when the teacher confides, "When I was a little girl, all I wanted to do was go to the moon." Presumably, that aspiration went unfulfilled, which is kind of sad. Still, she's elated to be sharing her knowledge and enthusiasm, so in that way her dream still soars.




Google Earth’s Incredible Ad About a Little Boy Lost Will Make You Cry, and Then Smile

Every now and then, a story is so remarkable that it leaves you speechless.

Saroo Brierley was lost at age 5, separated from his family in India with no clue how to get home after accidentally boarding a runaway train. He was adopted by a family in Australia. For more than 25 years, he searched for his Indian family. With nothing more than a visual memory of where he grew up, it was, he says, like searching for a needle in a haystack.

Enter the uncanny technology of Google Earth. Searching outward from the train station where he was found, Saroo logged countless hours virtually touring the streets of India—until he miraculously found the place where he grew up. From there, he found his way back to his childhood home and was reunited with his mother and his siblings.

The entire story is told in Brierley's book A Long Way Home. But c'mon, what are the odds? It's almost uncanny. You will cry. You will forget that it's an ad for Google. You will also forget about Google's privacy concerns and how eerie it is that your blind date can see every detail of your house before you meet.

One minor quibble: They subtitled the video Homeward Bound—you know, like the Disney movie where the three talking pets cross half a nation to be reunited with their family? Yeah, Brierley's story is a billion times cooler than those dogs.


    

Imagens distorcidas do Google Earth vistas como obras de arte

O projeto Postcards from Google Earth, da artista Clement Valla, é uma coleção de imagens do Google Earth com paisagens que foram distorcidas em diferentes formas, como estradas derretidas e pontes mergulhando na água. Essas distroções, vistas neste projeto como arte, acontecem devido à forma como as imagens são capturadas.

O algoritmo do Google cria um modelo 3D da paisagem, usando fotografia aérea. Normalmente, essa técnica produz modelos “sem costura” mas, às vezes, quando uma foto é tirada de um ângulo muito íngreme ou a luz reflete de uma forma incomum, estas distorções acontecem.

Clement Valla dá um novo significado para estes defeitos, enxergando-os de forma interessante, uma ilusão causada pela máquina, expondo o limite dos algoritmos e seus resultados inesperados.

O projeto repensa a tecnologia por trás da fotografia, automatizada e baseada em dados, e como o nosso dia a dia é construído por imagens controladas por computador.

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Brainstorm9Post originalmente publicado no Brainstorm #9
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