Carry it forward: information into knowledge

Hands down, today was the best discussion we've had in English class so far. Having the whole class involved was amazing, and everyone's individual perspectives were extremely intriguing. Discussing the differences between information and knowledge opened up my mind to many new ideas and possibilities. I believe the relationship between information and knowledge has a lot to do with the theme of "carrying it forward".

The way I see it is, one is given information; whether it be from a teacher, parent or friend, the information is just fact. It is what it is. To go on and take that information that was given to someone, they would have to strive to really understand what it means. That would mean, either experiencing it or continuing to ask questions about whatever it is. In other words, one has to carry forward that information for it to actually turn into knowledge.

Turning information into knowledge is done in a very interesting way in Jostein Gaarder's novel Sophie's World. For a large portion of the novel thus far, it has been clearly divided into Sophie's narrative and lessons about philosophy. Gaarder makes it obvious to the reader, by teaching philosophy in the letters, and he even goes out of his way to make it clear to the reader by using a different font. There is an underlying theme throughout the whole book that there are two specific parts to each one greater thing. Some examples of that are; the idea of faith and reason, technology and nature, good and evil, and dreams and reality. Juxtaposition can be seen in all of these things, because while they are seemingly opposites, they can also have more similarities than they initially appear to.

Information and knowledge are similar to the previous examples because, like each of them, one can not work without the other. What I'm saying is, life needs a perfect balance, or equillibrium to really work and be the best it can be.

what if: we stood on our hands

I wanna write something fun in this blog entry. What if everyone decided to walk on their hands every wednesday from 3:30-3:45. No matter what, hands down(pun intended), people would just have to walk on their hands. Everyone would do it, because it would be the norm. Usually if the majority of a group does something(no matter how odd it may seem) it will begin to catch on, until society views it as a cultural norm. I know this may seem obvious, but it is really interesting to think about the things that humans have control over. It seems obvious because we are constantly surrounded by manmade things, but I, along with many others, sometimes lose sight of the world and how easy it is to actually change things, because we all get caught up in our individual routines and beliefs.

Another thing that people living in this day in age do from time to time, is say that things are impossible. For example, up until today, I probably would've said that there was no such thing as a shirt that lights up and talks. But lo and behold, today Fred strutted into class showing off a shirt that I thought would never exist. It all goes back to keeping an open mind; humanity, and the things that humans create is ever-changing, and people should not close their minds off to knew ideas, or new ways of living.

Basically the point I was trying to make with people standing on their hands is that, although something may seem weird or impossible to work in our society, but amazingly enough, there is always a possibility for changing the way we live.

Best of Today: Question everything

Who am I? What is my purpose in life? Am I even living?

Questions like those are what made me used to hate philosophy. If I would try to answer these questions, I would give up within minutes if I wasn't able to answer them. The thing I didn't understand about philosophy was that there are for more questions posed than actually answered. Sure, I can come to further conclusions on each of these questions, but there will never be a definitive answer. That being said, some might argue that these questions are pointless to even ask, and why should we waste our time thinking about those things, when there are other tasks that we, as humans, need to complete. The fact is, humans may oftentimes forget the amazing abilities they possess because they get caught up in routines and schedules.

What separates humans from other animals is our distinct ability to question ourselves and the world that we inhabit. It is unbelievable to be able to question all things in this world, manmade or not, and be able to hear different answers from different people. It's understandable that people are afraid to ask those philosophical questions. In our society, bottom-up thinking occurs much less frequently than the standard top-down process of thinking. In school, we are conditioned to fill in bubbles on a scantron rather than expand our ways of thinking by thinking outside of the box(or bubble in the case of a scantron) and dig deeper and think about philosophical questions.

Curiosity is a beautiful thing, and it is something I intend to keep in my life until I die. My mother always told me that there was no such thing as a stupid question, and I agree with that 100%.

iMedia: The Digable Planets

Digable Planets - Where I'm From
Uploaded by LilQ. - Explore more music videos.

I chose to write about a song called "Where I'm From" by the Digable Planets. Lately I've been finding that I actually learn quite a bit from rap. I used to reject the genre and think of it only as music that talked about money, gangs, and women. I've started listening to some older groups, and I have found that rap is, at it's essence, just slam poetry. Although it may not deal with the same topics that traditional high-brow poetry does, it deals with real life, and real life issues.

This song "Where I'm From" also relates to the differences, as well as the similarities, that humans share, no matter where people come from. I researched a thing called the "Where I'm From Poem" and it is basically a template where you fill in the blanks according to your own individual life, and it comes out being a different poem than anyone else would have. The song doesn't fit the exact template, but it seems as though the template might have been an influence on the Digable Planets when they were writing this song.

I think it is really interesting how people could take the same template to start off with and end up with something so completely different. Instead of just saying bluntly how important rapping is to the members of the group, this is how they expressed it;

We live to love and we love to rock mics

We speak in ghetto tongue cause ghetto's the life

Food for thought so get a buffet plate

The lyrics are so fat you might gain weight

I think that expressing feeling through a rap or a poem is a very unique and interesting way of expressing feelings. Hearing music like this inspires me to want to share my story of whereI'm from, hearing music like this makes me interested in the lives of others. I also find it quite amazing that songs like "Where I'm From" is kind of like a little chunk of history, and peoplewho look back at the song, or the music video will be able to experience what it was like where other people were from, and the different lifestyles that people live all over the worldat different times in history.

Carry It Forward: Born Into Brothels

I was really moved by the documentary that we watched in class called Born Into Brothels. The movie was really inspirational, and it was amazing to learn about a culture and what other kids are going through all around the world. Sometimes it is hard to "burst the Glenview bubble", and we find ourselves getting caught up with trivial matters, but not really thinking about the challenges that others are facing all around the world. In class I remember discussing the distance between us and the kids living in the brothels in Calcutta, and it made me realize that we are more similar than we think we are. I know we live completely different lives, but we all have core elements that connect us, and make us human. We all experience the same emotions, they are just brought about in different ways. I'm not trying to say that what they deal with isn't painful, but no matter the physical distance, the human spirit is so powerful that people who have easier lives will reach out and offer their support to those who are less fortunate.

For a while, I've wanted to be a filmmaker, and I've become interested specifically in documentary work lately. Seeing this film re-established the importance of documentary films to me, and made it clear that there are people out there like the kids in the brothels, who need their stories to be told, and their talents to be seen by others. This film made me want to learn more about other social issues that people are living with, and how I can become more of a humanitarian in this world. The film was extremely powerful and it will surely be something I will carry forward and keep with me, so that I always remember that the human spirit is strong and does a lot of good for the world.

Metacognition: Q&E Essay

I'm not gonna lie, there was a brief moment in time where I thought the Q&E Essay would be the death of me. I found myself sitting at my computer watching that cursed cursor click my time away. I will be the first to admit that I should have started my essay earlier, but honestly, this was the most challenging experience of writing an essay I had ever faced.

Looking back now, everything is a blur. I was trying so hard, and thinking for such long periods of time I literally stayed up the entire night working. This is no exaggeration either; this is a true account of what was going on in my mind as I was writing my essay.

Around 1:00 AM(my usual time to call it quits on homework and hit the sack) I noticed that I could maybe pass for being done with my essay, but it was important to me that I got all my points across exactly how I meant, so i decided to trudge forward and further elaborate on my points for another half an hour.

2:00 AM rolls around and I notice that my entire paper has essentially been re-worked due to some silly notion I had that I should start fresh. This of course was probably a very silly thing to do seeing as I knew I had less than 3 hours until I had to wake up and get to school.

At 2:15 AM, I decide at this point I may as well stay up the entire night, because I wont be satisfied either way; whether it be with 3 hours of sleep or none at all. I called my friend Max(who apparently doesn't sleep either), and we went to the 24-hour Dunkin Donuts for a crazy caffeine coffee binge.

When I arrived back home at 3:15 AM I was unhappy that the caffeine was beginning to wear off, and at that point I was grumpy as well as unhappy with my paper.

After working a little longer I heard my alarm clock go off, and it was probably one of the most surreal moments of my life. Obviously we all know that human beings need sleep to function, so I thought my day would make for an interesting experiment. I got to school at 6:00 AM to shoot some scenes for a movie, and then by 7:00 AM, I was already off to my first period early-bird gym class. Needless to say, I crashed around second period, and I knew I crashed when I called my teacher Mr. Jeeves(his name is Mr. Kane) and instead of asking his permission to go to the bath room, I accidently asked "Est-ce que je peux alle au toilette si vous plait?"(Even though I was in Sociology, not french)

I guess where I'm going with this is this ordeal with pulling an all nighter should have been a lesson for me that I need to get my work done earlier. But the sad thing is, here I am writing this blog at 1:24 AM, so I can only imagine what the night holds in store for me. Clearly I need to find a better way to get my work done faster, so I can actually sleep at night.

Blogging Around

Response to: dannyrhumanities: Metacognition: Joining T.U.B.

-in the blog Danny discusses what it was like to join a new band, and how he learned new styles and techniques from collaborating with other musicians.

I think that its really cool that you were able to step out of your comfort zone and try something new with music. It's really important to take risks, and try new things because you never know if you will enjoy something, or be good at it, until you actually try it. The way you described the differences between your two bands was really interesting, because you said instead of doing things the way you were used to, you had to step back and listen to what other people were doing. I think that listening to others is the key to a great collaboration. Even though you probably have lots of good ideas on your own, imagine what would happen if you combined your ideas with someone Else's? The possibilities would be endless and the combination of thoughts could generate something truly amazing.

Response to: HannahHumanities: Best of week: My self portrait

-in this post Hannah describes the feelings of her work being plagiarized and connected it to the article about Farnsworth called "The Televisionary"

First of all, I really enjoyed reading your blog entry because it was set up with a very clear beginning, middle, and end. I was drawn into your post because of this idea of a self portrait and what it means to the artist as well as what it means to others. It boggles my mind to think that you were able to work on one specific piece of art for 8 hours! It shows true dedication and focus, which are necessary skills for an artist. The way that your friend took your ideas to put into her art was a great connection to the televisionary. It really bothers me when people use other peoples work and take the credit for it, and I'm really sorry that that happened to you. Especially after you spent so much time developing you own PERSONAL style, it is unfair that someone else would use what you made and put into their own self-portrait. The whole point of a self portrait is to display each individual artist's work, and in the end your friend wont be the winner, you will be because you stayed true to yourself.

Metacognition: Setting Priorities Straight

Thinking about thinking. It’s a simple, yet puzzling idea to wrap my mind around, but it can be intriguing to think about. As I’m working on my homework part of my mind is invested in what I’m working on, but there is always a part of my mind that is thinking about something else. Taking the time to think about what I am thinking is showing the flaws in my work ethic.

Today, like any other day, I had the intention of going directly home from school, and completing my homework before engaging in any kind of leisure activity. And today, like every other day, I procrastinated until the last minute. I really wanted to work so I started doing some math problems, but all it took was the ring of my cell phone to change the course of my evening. If something other than the math I was working on arose and seemed at all entertaining, you’d best believe that I was going to forget about my math homework for a little bit, and have a little fun. There in lies the problem; If I am truly focused on what I am doing, I should not answer my phone until I’m done working. But sometimes it is just too hard, and I end up going to my friend’s house, and we end up talking more than studying, and more time playing around than working.

Of course, I enjoy that alternative to actually completing my homework at a reasonable hour rather than 1:00 A.M., I still know that so far this school year I have not been working as hard as I truly should be. While it has been difficult to examine my way of thinking and working, it shows me that I will not accomplish my goals if I continue to work the way I am now. I am just creating bad habits, and if I get too situated in this routine, I may end up having trouble prioritizing for the rest of my life.

So the next time I know I should be working on something and a distraction arises, I will think twice about my priorities, and what is the most important at the moment. Who knows, maybe I will have enough time to complete my work, and do the things I want to do.

Best of Week: The Sea of Information

If there is one thing I've learned throughout high school it is that starting is always the hardest part. Whether it's homework, essays, applications, even this blog entry, starting is always the biggest challenge for me. I don't think I'm alone on this either, it is almost as if it is genetically encoded in every single teenager that the later you start something, the easier it will be. It is unbelievable how daunting the sight of a word document is as it stares back at me, just my name and the date are in the top left corner, and the cursor is clicking on and off at the same beat my mom taps her foot impatiently when I am running late.

After reading Andrea Barrett's The Sea of Information, something clicked; maybe instead of putting things off, I could just be thinking about them constantly. That might not make much sense, but the way she came up with ideas for her novel didn't come instantaneously, they were things she had on the back burners of her mind at all times. Ideas don't just come out of an hour of brainstorming, it takes time and living and learning and always keeping thoughts on the back burner so you can expand on your ideas.

To be a better all around thinker, one must use juxtification in order to see connections between things that aren't obviously related. For example Barrett's connection between tuberculosis and a world war. On the surface these seem like two separate categories of thinking, but after researching more aspects of each topic, they can be compared and the comparisons made can offer new perspectives.

The best way I can think to describe this is to not think on a schedule. For example from 8:00 to 8:50 I'm supposed to be learning french, and just french, for the duration of that class. From 8:55-9:45 I'm supposed to be learning solely about sociology. But when I close my mind off like that, it doesn't allow me to make connections between the two separate subjects, and I could be missing important connections.

Going back to the theme of starting being the hardest part, Barrett has taught me to think without starting and stopping points, and to be able to think and relate things all the time.

Connection: Plagiarism and "The Televisionary"

In today’s high-tech world, access to art has become immensely easier than it was even 5 years ago. Technology is ever-changing and everyday more and more art is becoming accessible to the general public. At a time where one can read entire books, download music, and watch full-length movies online(and sometimes even for free), plagiarism otherwise known as “re-mixing” art is on the rise. Of course some artists claim that they just use pieces as their “inspiration”, some artists copy complete works of art and just tweak them a little bit.

The article we read titled The Televisionary reminded me of all that I’ve read and heard about how easy it is to take someone else’s art and claim it as your own. In the article it is clear that Philio T. Farnsworth was really the mastermind behind the invention of the television, but because he didn’t want to be involved with the business side of creativity, he wound up not getting credit, and dying an unhappy man.

I connected this idea of “re-mixing” and plagiarism because it reminded me of an episode of The Colbert Report that I saw last year. The author of the book titled Remixed came onto the show to talk about he considered it a collaboration of ideas rather than plagiarism. While that may be true, I think that if one were to use an artist’s work, they must give the artist the credit that they deserve.

Of course it is natural to be inspired by wonderful works of art, but with the availability of art on the Internet, people should be careful that they don’t cross the line of simply being inspired, to taking credit for work that is not theirs.

What If: We Didn't Have Art?

Last week in Sociology I learned about a sociological theory called "The Functionalist Perspective". The theory basically states that each aspect of society is interdependent and contributes to society's functioning as a whole. In other words, each person plays some role in society. The first thing that came to my mind were doctors. For obvious reasons doctors are needed in society, and they play a crucial role in keeping people healthy. The next thing that came to my mind were police officers. They keep people safe, and they enforce the law. Within a few minutes I was able to rattle off more jobs and the specific role they play in society. Then the shrill of the bell shook me out of my thoughts and I was off to my next class.

Two hours later I walked into Humanities and found my seat nestled in the corner beneath the art posters that lined the walls. I still could not shake the idea of everyone playing a specific role in society. As we began our discussion in class I thought to myself "are artists really necessary in society?" It's not like they are curing diseases like scientists, or educating people like teachers, do they really have an important role in society? I know artists are important, but I wasn't sure exactly why, and what they really did for the greater good of the society.

Then it hit me; what would the classroom look like with nothing on the walls? What would our lives be like without music, literature, film, poetry or any other form of art? Personally I don't think I would be able to handle it. I remember on the first day hearing Mr. Allen say "Life is about seeing as much beauty as possible on this earth", and that would be extremely difficult if our society didn't have artists.

I guess what I'm getting at is while doctors, scientists, teachers (etc...), are necessary in society, artists are unique in that they are not only necessary, but they have the ability to create beauty and share it with the world.