Stop Thinking!

If you missed class on Tuesday, please watch this video. Before viewing this talk, we went for a walk in the woods and tried to STOP THINKING. It is difficult to turn off all of the chatter in our brain (thinking about the past and the future) and to focus completely on the present. The question we asked was, when we stop thinking, is our sense perception enhanced? Please feel free to comment.

Selective Attention Test

Here is the short basketball video we watched in class today. If you were absent, please watch it and follow the instructions exactly. If you already saw it, watch it again or show it to a friend!

Sense Perception Presentations on 4/8

Requirements

Your presentation can be on:
-A loss of a sense perception
-A heightened sense perception
-The fallibility of sense perception
-The subjectivity of sense perception

Work in pairs or groups of 3 (no individuals or quartets).
You must actively engage the audience.
Your presentation must be grounded in at least one of the Areas of Knowledge.
Presentation 10 minutes MAX (you will be cut off). 8min + 2 min for questions is a good guideline.
Presentations will be on Thursday, April 8.

Eyewitness Testimony - Post-Viewing Discussion

Okay TOKers,

Let's discuss the 60 Minutes video that we watched in class. If you were absent, please watch both parts (below).

Here are some questions to consider. Feel free to add more:

1. If our visual memory is so inaccurate, should eyewitness testimony be considered at all in trials?

2. When has your visual memory failed you? Tell us the story. (Hint: these real-life examples can come in handy when writing your ToK Essay)

3. How can visual memory be influenced by other ways of knowing such as emotion?

4. What role does visual memory play in your experiences in your classes at school?

Great Job!

I thought all of the groups did an excellent job identifying links between knowledge issues, ways of knowing, and real life situtions in the presentations this week. Hopefully you enjoyed the process. I certainly learned a lot from all of you. Feel free on comment on the assignment as a whole after this post.

For our 3 international travellers, we will be curious to know how Chinese and Guatemalan high school students think about HISTORY and TEACHER EFFECTIVENESS. And please take note of any other knowledge issues that you encounter during your trips. (Language issues will certainly exist!)

Have a great long weekend - see you on Tuesday. Please remember to dress for the weather.

Presentations Next Week!

Here is the schedule for our Knowledge Issue Presentations next week. Good luck!

Tuesday:
1. Water
2. Football
3. Music

Thursday:
1. Teacher Effectiveness
2. Honors Program
3. Cheer
4. History

The Matrix and Knowing Assignment

We will use The Matrix as a shared experience that we can continually refer to in our discussion of knowledge and skepticism about what we know.

There are four posts on our class blog to discuss the following topics. All students are required to post at least one comment to the “The Cave, the Evil Demon, and the Matrix” post. Students are also required to post at least one comment to their assigned group’s post.

All students: The Cave, the Evil Demon, and the Matrix
Look for parallels (compare) as well as major differences (contrast) between The Matrix and both the Allegory of the Cave (Plato) and the Evil Demon Meditation (Descartes). You should especially look for symbolism that overlaps. Post your comments in response to THIS post. Try to build on each other's responses and pose questions to one another.


Group 1: What is so bad about living in the Matrix?
(Daniel, Meru, Camille, Kathryn, Lee)
The steak scene sums this up. If we don’t know that we are being tricked in this world, what is so bad about living in this world if we are ignorant of how it was constructed?

Group 2: What is real?
(Julianna, Ebony, Peter, LIzzy, Courtney)
There are issues about whether what we sense or what we perceive is real. Explore these issues.

Group 3: Ethics of the Matrix
(Allie, Annie, Marivel, Andrea, Marlys)
Explore the ethical problems and solutions of The Matrix.

Just for fun (optional): Religious themes in the Matrix
Don’t limit yourself here. There is evidence of several religious themes from a variety of world religions.

Your participation in this blog discussion will be assessed. Make sure that you are an active participant and that you are communicating with others on the different pages.

Your group will lead the class in a 5-10 minute discussion of your topic next Tuesday (March 9).

Group 1 (Blue)

What is so bad about living in the Matrix?

The steak scene sums this up. If we don’t know that we are being tricked in this world, what is so bad about living in this world if we are ignorant of how it was constructed?

Group 2 (Red)

What is real?

There are issues about whether what we sense or what we perceive is real. Explore these issues.

Group 3 (Purple)

Ethics of the Matrix

Explore the ethical problems and solutions of The Matrix.

Optional Discussion

Religious themes in the Matrix

Don’t limit yourself here. There is evidence of several religious themes from a variety of world religions.