Blog 20: DUE Saturday, Sept. 21 by Midnight.
In your last blog responses, most of you referred in some way to the idea of human beings being isolated within the walls of their own, often limited, frameworks of understanding the world. This idea is applicable to people all over the world, as the speaker of the TedTalk made clear. We base our understanding of other places and people on very limited (often controlled) exposure--snippets of news or other media, snapshots that capture seconds instead of entire lifetimes. Is there a way out of this isolation?
I would argue that, yes, there is and it involves something that all of you actively pursue in your daily lives, and will continue to pursue for the next few years: your education. Trite and cliche as it may sound, taking your education by the proverbial horns, instead of just letting it be something you have to do or are expected to do, will open so many doors and knock down so many walls that leave many as blind as Plato's puppets for their entire lives. Embracing the possibilities that exposure, learning, questioning, and inquiring can provide, however uncomfortable will make you one of the few who base your conclusions (however brief they might actually be conclusive) on more than just what you are fed.
This is the last of the Human Sciences blogs before we launch into Ethics. As a student of the world, we've talked about the importance of also being a student of yourself. When I asked you about your human sciences profile, many of you had a hard time saying who you were psychologically--perhaps because the breadth and depth of your own psychological make-up is more expansive than we often realize. After the Myers Briggs test, we know part of our preferences, but how far does that take us?
In this blog, you can either respond to the TedTalk, or some/all of the questions below:
In our country, psychology is a lucrative profession and many people visit a psychologist, psychiatrist, therapist, etc, on a regular basis. Is this a symptom of our affluence--that we are able to spend money on learning about ourselves? Does it signify how advanced and enlightened we are? Do other countries consider "knowing thyself" as a pathway to happiness?
There are some times in our lives that we can actually sense our psychology shifting or changing. Often, this is in the wake of something significant happening in our lives. Sometimes you know beforehand that you will never again be the same; sometimes it's only in hindsight that you realize such a change has occurred. Write about (either in general or in specific reference to something you've experienced) this psychological growth (or regression). Use examples. How do changes like this contribute to the collective knowledge and wisdom? Or...is this purely gains in personal knowledge?
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Monday, September 9, 2013
Blog 19: The Paradox of Cartography, Revisited
Blog 19
DUE: Saturday, September 14, 2013 by Midnight
First, let me say how much I loved all of your responses to Blog 18. You are all reflective and articulate and I love how each of you sheds light on different ideas. It was so interesting to read about how you all relate to collective and personal knowledge differently and also how much you all value self-awareness, but how it is something at which you continue to work (we all do, trust me!) However, you were able to write so well about these things and bring up ideas I'd never considered. Thank you! I am a lucky teacher to learn so much from you!
Now, for this week's blog:
Early in your TOK experience, we talked about the Paradox of Cartography. Among the points that are important to recall are the following:
-There is no such thing as a perfect map
-There is no such thing as a flawlessly accurate map
-There are different ways of looking at a map (which way is up? what country or territory is at center?)
-Maps must constantly change due to many variables: changes in power, borders, boundary, or geographical landscape.
-And most importantly, in its entirety, the Paradox of Cartography and all of the points in this list are metaphors for knowledge, concepts, ideas, frameworks, and paradigms.
It's mind-blowing! Right?
Think specifically about the Human Sciences we've discussed briefly in class (anthropology, sociology, psychology, economics, etc). Extend this metaphor to one of these sub-categories of the Human Sciences by bringing our attention to an example in which the Paradox of Cartography applies. Does it help or hinder this area of the soft-sciences? Is it broadly applicable or just to your specific example? How can a metaphor like this (and trust me, the Human Sciences is chalk-full of metaphors!!) help us comprehend something conceptually abstract in the Human Sciences? Think about R. Abel's Man is the Measure and his explanation of Verstehen. Does this metaphor apply even to this broadly applicable philosophy?
DUE: Saturday, September 14, 2013 by Midnight
First, let me say how much I loved all of your responses to Blog 18. You are all reflective and articulate and I love how each of you sheds light on different ideas. It was so interesting to read about how you all relate to collective and personal knowledge differently and also how much you all value self-awareness, but how it is something at which you continue to work (we all do, trust me!) However, you were able to write so well about these things and bring up ideas I'd never considered. Thank you! I am a lucky teacher to learn so much from you!
Now, for this week's blog:
Early in your TOK experience, we talked about the Paradox of Cartography. Among the points that are important to recall are the following:
-There is no such thing as a perfect map
-There is no such thing as a flawlessly accurate map
-There are different ways of looking at a map (which way is up? what country or territory is at center?)
-Maps must constantly change due to many variables: changes in power, borders, boundary, or geographical landscape.
-And most importantly, in its entirety, the Paradox of Cartography and all of the points in this list are metaphors for knowledge, concepts, ideas, frameworks, and paradigms.
It's mind-blowing! Right?
Think specifically about the Human Sciences we've discussed briefly in class (anthropology, sociology, psychology, economics, etc). Extend this metaphor to one of these sub-categories of the Human Sciences by bringing our attention to an example in which the Paradox of Cartography applies. Does it help or hinder this area of the soft-sciences? Is it broadly applicable or just to your specific example? How can a metaphor like this (and trust me, the Human Sciences is chalk-full of metaphors!!) help us comprehend something conceptually abstract in the Human Sciences? Think about R. Abel's Man is the Measure and his explanation of Verstehen. Does this metaphor apply even to this broadly applicable philosophy?
Thursday, September 5, 2013
Blog 18: Human Sciences and Knowledge
Blog 18: Due Sunday, Sept. 8 by midnight.
The TEDtalk above by Margaret Heffernan delves into many aspects of the human sciences: free will, regret, collective knowledge, and shared vs. unshared values. If you watch it and feel like commenting, please do so! Please also respond to the prompt below.
“Know then thyself, presume not God to scan/The proper study
of mankind is man.” –Alexander Pope
“We make our own surroundings and then they make us.”
–Winston Churchill
We began talking this week about how our own personalities
and our own way of being in the world
contribute the ways in which we gain both personal and collective
knowledge. In this week’s blog, discuss
how being self-aware is an important piece of the knowledge puzzle. How do you relate to other knowers? Do you
ever feel like you connect to or contribute to collective knowledge in a way
that is different or unique from others? If so, try to explain. Also, discuss whether you think (in terms of
Human Sciences) whether collective or personal knowledge is more valuable. Feel
free to work in one of the quotes above or something you wrote about in your
comp book for this unit.
Monday, May 27, 2013
Blog 17: The Last Blog of the Semester
May 26, 2013
Reminders:
Pick one of the quotations below and connect it to an experience, conversation, or train of thought you've had during TOK this semester. How did your definitions of knowledge, wisdom, answers, ignorance, and truth change or grow? What do you see as your current role in a community of "knowers"? In your opinion, what is the point in exploring the ideas, concepts and questions we've explored this year? And finally, what have you learned (if anything!) in ToK this semester.
"Knowledge is knowing that we cannot know." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
"The teacher who is indeed wise does not bid you to enter the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold of your mind." --Khalil Gibran
Reminders:
- Your comp book is due May 31. I will hand these back before you leave for the summer.
- Summer reading: choose a text from the list or one you've run by me and read it, with TOK in mind. Keep a reading log so in the fall you are well-equipped to share with your peers.
Pick one of the quotations below and connect it to an experience, conversation, or train of thought you've had during TOK this semester. How did your definitions of knowledge, wisdom, answers, ignorance, and truth change or grow? What do you see as your current role in a community of "knowers"? In your opinion, what is the point in exploring the ideas, concepts and questions we've explored this year? And finally, what have you learned (if anything!) in ToK this semester.
"Knowledge is knowing that we cannot know." -Ralph Waldo Emerson
"Knowledge is an unending adventure at the edge of uncertainty." -Jacob Bronowski
"There are many kinds of eyes, and consequently, there are many kinds of truths, and consequently there is no truth." - Friedrich Nietzsche
Sunday, May 19, 2013
Blog 16: TOK Presentation--exemplars and planning
May 19-May 25
Below you will find some examples of TOK presentations recommended by other TOK teachers as exemplars. They are not without flaws, by any means. Also, some teachers have their students pre-record their presentations, then simply show them in class--this will not be the case for us. However, within each of these presentations, you can clearly identify the real-life situation, the knowledge issues, the ways/areas of knowing addressed, the implications, problems of knowledge, and counterclaims. Do keep in mind that your time frame will be limited, and I will take that into account when grading. Do a very thorough job on your formal outline so that, if indeed you do leave something out, I can see that you did not entirely ignore it. Please meet with me if you would like to brainstorm or if you have questions.
*Remember that a minimum of 24 hours before your presentation, you must meet with me for approval of your TOK planning document. However, I am willing to sign off on those earlier if you are ready!
(This one we watched in class earlier in the year)--http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sL_2lN_5jlM
Other examples:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAZZ7oDvL8w
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGaBYnPtWzk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlUIB_hEH5M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BgAkEc9ZLlc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZuISBROQLM
For this blog-post, please briefly discuss the following in regards to your Semester 1 Final for TOK. This will not only ensure that no one steals your topic, but it will also give others the chance to help you!:
1. What real-life situation in the maths or sciences do you plan to address?
2. Why did you choose this topic?
3. Give one example of a knowledge issue that (at this point) you plan to address in your presentation.
4. What areas and ways of knowing play a part in this topic?
5. What are some of the problems of knowledge you've discovered so far?
6. Is there any help, direction, or ideas that your peers or Ms. Frizzell could help you with? Ask here!! You are in a class of people with rich and varied knowledge!
Sunday, May 12, 2013
Blog 15: Controversial Science
May 12-May 18
The debate above is one we've heard in some context before: climate change and its causes (or in some cases, its very existence).
Despite a reputation for being one of the areas of knowing that arrives nearest to "truth", it is often that very truth that becomes the topic of debate, ethical dilemma, or even matters of allegiance to a political party or religion. Sometimes, this stops science in its tracks.
For this week's blog, please respond to one of the following questions or the debate in the video (or a combination of both).
1. Is scientific progress ever "bad"? If so, explain and provide examples. If you don't believe so, explain why you think so.
2. If you were able to answer one "Why" or "How" question using a scientific experiment, without any ethical or moral repercussions, what question would you want to answer? Why? How would you have to go about answering this question?
3. Considering that many scientific processes, experiments, and samplings carry with them ethical dilemmas, what kinds of boundaries or parameters do you believe should be placed on the sciences? Worded in another way, what "rules" do you think scientists should have to follow when it comes to scientific progress? If you believe that progress is most important above all other implications, explain why you believe so.
The debate above is one we've heard in some context before: climate change and its causes (or in some cases, its very existence).
Despite a reputation for being one of the areas of knowing that arrives nearest to "truth", it is often that very truth that becomes the topic of debate, ethical dilemma, or even matters of allegiance to a political party or religion. Sometimes, this stops science in its tracks.
For this week's blog, please respond to one of the following questions or the debate in the video (or a combination of both).
1. Is scientific progress ever "bad"? If so, explain and provide examples. If you don't believe so, explain why you think so.
2. If you were able to answer one "Why" or "How" question using a scientific experiment, without any ethical or moral repercussions, what question would you want to answer? Why? How would you have to go about answering this question?
3. Considering that many scientific processes, experiments, and samplings carry with them ethical dilemmas, what kinds of boundaries or parameters do you believe should be placed on the sciences? Worded in another way, what "rules" do you think scientists should have to follow when it comes to scientific progress? If you believe that progress is most important above all other implications, explain why you believe so.
Sunday, May 5, 2013
Blog 14: Mathematics, magic, a metaphors
May 5-May 11
The video above is actually quite entertaining, and amazing! It also might contribute more to the discussion of pure vs. applied mathematics.
This week's blog requires you to do a little bit of searching...but you won't have to search for long. Please respond to the two prompts below:
a.) Find a piece of current news (newspaper, magazine, online source) in which something mathematical is referenced. Share the title of the piece, the publication, the publication date, the mathematics that are used and why you believe this publication/writer chose to use these mathematics. (For example, was it to convince or persuade? Was it to validate evidence or provide proof? Was it to back up "facts"? etc). Was the use of mathematics in this article spelled out for the readers or did it leave room for inference? Was the purpose of the use of mathematics successful, do you think?
b.) This week we are going to be talking about mathematics as metaphors for abstract concepts. Specifically, we will be talking about Euclidian geometry as a metaphor for many, many things. Brainstorm some ideas as to what you think Euclidian geometry (or any maths you choose) could stand for, metaphorically speaking. (It may help to think of sayings, lines of songs, or even poetry!)
The video above is actually quite entertaining, and amazing! It also might contribute more to the discussion of pure vs. applied mathematics.
This week's blog requires you to do a little bit of searching...but you won't have to search for long. Please respond to the two prompts below:
a.) Find a piece of current news (newspaper, magazine, online source) in which something mathematical is referenced. Share the title of the piece, the publication, the publication date, the mathematics that are used and why you believe this publication/writer chose to use these mathematics. (For example, was it to convince or persuade? Was it to validate evidence or provide proof? Was it to back up "facts"? etc). Was the use of mathematics in this article spelled out for the readers or did it leave room for inference? Was the purpose of the use of mathematics successful, do you think?
b.) This week we are going to be talking about mathematics as metaphors for abstract concepts. Specifically, we will be talking about Euclidian geometry as a metaphor for many, many things. Brainstorm some ideas as to what you think Euclidian geometry (or any maths you choose) could stand for, metaphorically speaking. (It may help to think of sayings, lines of songs, or even poetry!)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)