Pythagora Switch
PythagoraSwitch (ピタゴラスイッチ, Pitagora Suitchi?) is a 15-minute Japanese educational television program by NHK which aired since 2002. It encourages augmenting children's "way of thinking" under the supervision of Masahiko Satō (佐藤雅彦?) and Masumi Uchino (内野真澄?). A five-minute format called PythagoraSwitch Mini is also available.
During the beginning, ending, and between each corner (segment), there are Pythagorean Devices (ピタゴラ装置, Pitagora Sōchi?). Pythagorean Devices are known in the US as "Rube Goldberg machines", or in Great Britain as "Heath Robinson" contraptions. The main focus of the program is a puppet show, but the subject is mainly advanced by the small corners. World phenomena, principles, characteristics, and the like are introduced in an entertaining way. As a feature of the show "Pitagora Suitchi" is sung to catch and focus attention on an important point.
Famous quotes containing the word switch:
“Uncritical semantics is the myth of a museum in which the exhibits are meanings and the words are labels. To switch languages is to change the labels.”
—Willard Van Orman Quine (b. 1908)