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.