Image versus Substance; What we see as opposed to what really is...

 

In this video short, Malcolm Gladwell discusses his reinterpretation of the Old Testament story about David and Goliath - the basis of his most recent book entitled the same.  Gladwell offers nuanced insights regarding how apparent underdogs may not necessarily doomed because shortcomings only appear so because they are based on a of frame of reference that is set by prevailing perspectives.  

Gladwell echoes a phenomenon discussed by Nassim Nicholas Taleb in his provocative, ground-breaking book, "Black Swan".  Taleb's premise is that we develop a sort of veiled consciousness because we are unprepared to see what may not be obvious.  Why?  Because we are locked onto seeing a different kind of obvious that has its roots according to currently held conventions.

I have always found it fascinating that weaknesses can be strengths and vice versa - and that is what this book explores. 

Endnote: You may receive Feedback Credit for submitting commentary on this video under the 1/12 posting criteria, or you may receive the full 5 points if you decide to submit a 1200-1500 book review for the Gladwell book.  Just let me know your intent via e-mail.

Arugument; Is it worth it?

Dr. Cohen discusses arguments, the kinds of argument, and utility of argument.

I eagerly anticipate your arguments on argument.

Meaningful Work - The Utility of Outlined Notes

I like Dr. Dan Ariely.  I like him because he has the ability to explain what motivates Humans.  

I understand this is a 20 minute video, and I understand you have many things that you could probably be doing, but this video is important for two reasons; 

1]  It helps you understand the reason behind my requirement for notes.

2]  It helps you come to realize that your the quality of your education depends on what you put into it.  Simply requesting a re-take for your Assessments, Quizzes and Tests does little for you unless you put some work into understanding the reason for requesting a re-take.  

Something to keep in mind...

Your reward is not in getting the re-take.  Rather, it is in having the opportunity to learn from your mistakes on an immediate level; Learning, and by extension, school is about making mistakes.  The more mistakes you make, the more opportunity you have to learn.  Just so long as you realize that your learning requires that whatever challenges you face must be meaningful.

Now, what I have written here relates to my reasoning behind requiring notes, there are many ways you could interpret this video.  And that is the beauty of learning how to learn; you can apply these lessons to many different situations in life.  These concepts work for relationships, for work, and for motivating people to do something, and even for establishing policy or running organizations from small businesses to government.

Here at SAMS, we have an agreement; you work and we make sure your work is at a certain quality.  Each teacher has a different approach, and mine includes, "Trust but verify."  This means, I want you to do you work, but I cannot force you to care about your work.  

This is why I do not require notes to be turned in at the end of the semester.  Yes, it gives you the opportunity to walk away from your responsibility.  However, it also gives you an opportunity to get "paid" a potentially higher grade.  My question is, If someone offered you an opportunity to paid more for just trying harder, why wouldn't you take it?  The way I see it, you would have to be nuts to not get paid for just loving your job! 

Finally, remember anyone can copy and paste - but your challenge is to make what you have learned your own.  It makes no sense to have beautiful notes that someone else put the effort into.   Using notes created by others makes as much sense as expecting a plant to grow from planting cut flowers.

I would love to know what your thoughts are on this video, how it relates to you, and how you think you can apply this knowledge to your life, or how this information can be related to others in your world.

For those of you who would like to read more about the phenomenon of meaningful work, this is the book where Dr. Ariely explains it in more detail.  I will offer 5 points - that's a half a grade added to your end of semester grade - for anyone who reads the book and gives me a 1200 - 1500 word summary and discussion of what you have learned from what you have read.

The Price of Kindness

 

It costs you very little - if anything - to be kind. 

Years may pass before you ever get to realize the good you have done.  That's one of the big payoffs for being a teacher.

Look up the "butterfly effect," and see if you can make a scientific connection.

What is your "take-away" after watching this video?  I can't wait to read your Feedback Responses.

Always do your best, and never give up.
Mr. M. 

High on Stress? You've got to be kidding! - Stress Resilience & the Biology of Courage

Have you ever  heard people say, "Bad things happen to everyone" or, "How we deal with those bad things reflects our character"  or, "Happiness is a choice."   It appears some of that folksy wisdom may have a biological relevance to it. This is what Science is telling us about the stress response, and here are a couple of the take-aways I got from Dr. Kelly McGonigal's lecture;

• "Character creates  resilience..." 
• "Chasing meaning is better for your health than trying to avoid discomfort. And so, I would say that is really the best way to make decisions.  My advice is, 'go after what it is that makes meaning in your life, and then trust yourself to handle the stress that follows.'"

Here's something to keep in mind;  "Helping others helps me."   

Make your profound statement in life.

Let me know what you got out of this Ted Talk.  You can feel free to expand on what I saw, or discuss whatever you found most compelling.  I can't wait to get your Feedback Responses. Also, this is one of the books written by Kelly McGonigal ph.D.
 

 

Mini Fitz's Favorite - A Toy Robot in Space

 On occasion, one of my students will offer up a suggestion of something interesting to post.  

This one comes to us on recommendation from one of my favorite students.

Thank you Mr. Mini Fitz!

I have a Dream Speech - 50th Anniversary

I Have A Dream

by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Delivered 50 years ago today - on the steps at the Lincoln Memorial
in Washington D.C. on 28 August 1963

Five score years ago, a great American, in whose symbolic shadow we stand today signed the Emancipation Proclamation. This momentous decree came as a great beacon light of hope to millions of Negro slaves who had been seared in the flames of withering injustice. It came as a joyous daybreak to end the long night of captivity.
But one hundred years later, we must face the tragic fact that the Negro is still not free. One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacles of segregation and the chains of discrimination. One hundred years later, the Negro lives on a lonely island of poverty in the midst of a vast ocean of material prosperity. One hundred years later, the Negro is still languishing in the corners of American society and finds himself an exile in his own land. So we have come here today to dramatize an shameful condition.

In a sense we have come to our nation's capital to cash a check. When the architects of our republic wrote the magnificent words of the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, they were signing a promissory note to which every American was to fall heir. This note was a promise that all men yes, black men as well as white men would be guaranteed the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

It is obvious today that America has defaulted on this promissory note insofar as her citizens of color are concerned. Instead of honoring this sacred obligation, America has given the Negro people a bad check which has come back marked "insufficient funds." But we refuse to believe that the bank of justice is bankrupt. We refuse to believe that there are insufficient funds in the great vaults of opportunity of this nation. So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand -- the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. Now is the time to to make real the promises of Democracy. Now is the time to rise from the dark and desolate valley of segregation to the sunlit path of racial justice. Now is the time to lift our nation from the quicksands of racial injustice to the solid rock of brotherhood. Now is the time to open the doors of opportunity to all of God's children.

It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment and to underestimate the determination of the Negro. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to, 'business as usual.' There will be neither rest nor tranquility in America until the Negro is granted his citizenship rights. The whirlwinds of revolt will continue to shake the foundations of our nation until the bright day of justice emerges.

But there is something that I must say to my people who stand on the warm threshold which leads into the palace of justice. In the process of gaining our rightful place we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds. Let us not seek to satisfy our thirst for freedom by drinking from the cup of bitterness and hatred.

We must forever conduct our struggle on the high plane of dignity and discipline. We must not allow our creative protest to degenerate into physical violence. Again and again we must rise to the majestic heights of meeting physical force with soul force. The marvelous new militancy which has engulfed the Negro community must not lead us to a distrust of all white people, for many of our white brothers, as evidenced by their presence here today, have come to realize that their destiny is tied up with our destiny and their freedom is inextricably bound to our freedom. We cannot walk alone.

And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back. There are those who are asking the devotees of civil rights, "When will you be satisfied?" We can never be satisfied as long as the Negro is the victim of the unspeakable horrors of police brutality. We can never be satisfied as long as long as our bodies, heavy with the fatigue of travel, cannot gain lodging in the motels of the highways and the hotels of the cities. We cannot be satisfied as long as the Negro's basic mobility is from a smaller ghetto to a larger one. We can never be satisfied as long as a Negro in Mississippi cannot vote and a Negro in New York believes he has nothing for which to vote. No, no, we are not satisfied, and we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.

I am not unmindful that some of you have come here out of great trials and tribulations. Some of you have come fresh from narrow jail cells. Some of you have come from areas where your quest for freedom left you battered by the storms of persecution and staggered by the winds of police brutality. You have been the veterans of creative suffering. Continue to work with the faith that unearned suffering is redemptive.

Go back to Mississippi, go back to Alabama, go back to South Carolina, go back to Georgia, go back to Louisiana, go back to the slums and ghettos of our northern cities, knowing that somehow this situation can and will be changed. Let us not wallow in the valley of despair.

I say to you today, my friends, so even though we face the difficulties [and frustrations] of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident: that all men are created equal."
I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slaveowners will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a [desert] state, sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.
I have a dream that my four children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.
I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day down in [the state of] Alabama, with its vicious racists, with it's governor having his lips [presently] dripping with the words of interposition and nullification - one day right there in Alabama [will be transformed into a situation where] - little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls [and walk together] as sisters and brothers.
I have a dream today.

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight, and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.

This is our hope. This is the faith with which I return to the South. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

This will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with a new meaning, "My country, 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing. Land where my fathers died, land of the pilgrim's pride, from every mountainside, let freedom ring."

And if America is to be a great nation this must become true.
So let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.
Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.
Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania!
Let freedom ring from the snowcapped Rockies of Colorado!
Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California!
But not only that; let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia!
Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee!
Let freedom ring from every hill and every molehill of Mississippi. From every mountainside, let freedom ring - and when this happens;
When we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, "Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

On April 3rd, 1968 - he delivered his prophetic, 'I've Been to the Mountain Top' speech in Memphis, Tennessee;It really doesn't matter what happens now.... some began to... talk about the threats that were out -- what would happen to me from some of our sick white brothers.... Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place, but I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. And so I'm happy tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

The following day, Reverend, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was silenced by a sniper's bullet as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel where he was preparing to lead a march in support of strikinig Memphis sanitation workers.
 

Be a superhero, smile!

Juan Mann's Free Hugs Campaign

Dear Samsters,

Last day of school!  Have a great summer and don't forget to check in - I'll be posting throughout the break.  It has been a pleasure working for you all!

Drop me a line just to let me know what you are up to, how you are doing and how your evil plan for world domination is coming along.

Always do your best and never give up!

By the way, look up "Oxytocin" the cuddle hormone.  Ya gotta love Science!

Life is good...
Mr. Mirabal

Thoughts vs Actions

Source: icanread.tumblr.com via Donn on Pinterest

Let's be Honest...

Some of you wonder how I use Scientific Method to effect changes in my world.  These two videos offer insights that I have culled from the research I have done on the topic of Human Motivation.  I would like to offer an In-service for students to help them understand why Humans do what they do, why irrationality some times trumps rationality, and why concepts like "cost benefit analysis," and "reward substitution" work in achieving certain objectives.

Professor Dan Ariely of Duke University touches upon some relevant topics in these videos.  If you are interested in what he is talking about, you can check out his books, "Predictably Irrational," " The Upside of Irrationality," or "The (Honest) Truth about Dishonesty."  I have all three on my e-reader (Nook) and you are free to borrow them from me is you have a Nook e-reader."

This blog post is worth the maximum Feedback Response points for the semester.  All you have to do is watch both videos, summarize them and pick at least two concepts discussed in the videos to expand upon by relating them to your own personal life experience.

I Believe this is a Little Weird...

Education - then and now

Here is the light version...

 

and here is the meaty one - the whole lesson:

Practice makes Perfect: Neuromodulation , How a Fly Brain can Make You Smarter

Here is some fascinating information that discusses neurobiology of a fly's brain.  Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of this video is how it relates to how the brain processes information.  From a purely biological perspective, Michael Dickenson's Ted Talk is fascinating because it demonstrates something electrical about the learning process;  establishing a neural pathway is how the brain 'learns.'  

Dickenson's  research seems to imply that repetitive processes rely on established multiplexes of neurons that fire in a set pattern.  To that end, it makes sense, that when a person learns something, part of that process involves practice until a neural pathway has been burned.  It explains why we practice makes perfect.

It also tells me that making mistakes is a critical component of the learning process.  Learning is about fine-tuning our mistakes until we reach a point considered to be satisfactory.  Thus, regardless of whether we are on  BMX bike, snowboarding, or memorizing PEMDAS, or memorizing y=mx+b, or even learning how to tie one's shoes, it all involves practice & making errors.  This tends to explain why wisdom tends to come with age and experience.  Old people have the potential to be wiser simply because they have had more of a chance to make mistakes!  Now that is a fascinating thought!

Here is the take-away; learning is the process of developing and establishing set neural pathways through trial and error.  Moreover, those who fine tune an action or thought process are neuromodulating.  

The better we neuromodulate is proportional to the amount of errors we make.  The more mistakes we make, the smarter we become.

Conclusion:  Make as many mistakes as you can, but make yourself aware of those mistakes, because when you do, you will fine-tune your ability to develop more refined neural pathways as you build on past experiences.  

In other words: You can only become an expert if you give yourself the opportunity to make mistakes.

Completely Changing the way we Think about Travel?

The Poetry of Science: We are All Africans & Extremophiles

In a world full of people, only some want to fly...

"...My best friend gave me the best advice.  He said, 'each day's a gift and not a given right.'" - Nickleback - If Today Was Your Last day

This video was filmed by three pilots having fun on a weekend.  Watching the landscapes unfold was a treat by itself.  But it took me to completely different space.  It triggered me to think about the relationship between teachers and students.  

For example, there was a point where the camera captured the image of one plane is flying just below the other, and below them their shadows were cast in tandem on the ground.  What I found most striking was that both pilots were flying independently of one another while their shadows appeared next to one another as they traversed the landscape below, seemingly locked to one another in their frame of reference.  That image reminded me of what is teacher-student relationship is like; we meet somewhere in the intellectual realm and we fly in tandem over a given intellectual terrain.  And from our particular vantage point, we appear to be moving together as the sun casts our shadow on the terrain as we hover above.  

But it is really an illusion; I am there to guide the exploration.  In return for this exchange, my student progresses through dimensions of space and time, all the while developing mastery.  Since learning is such an individualized experience, the terrain covered is unique to each student on a his or her quest of discovery.  We can visit the same terrain, but the area we cover is as unique as the students who work to advance themselves.  Thus, while the shadows appear to move together, they are working independently.  And that reminded me, I can never work harder than my students because they are piloting their own flight.  I can guide them, I can watch them, but I cannot fly their metaphorical plane.  

"...Miracles happen as we trip."

My students have to do that all on their own.  It is amazing to see one of the planes as it rolls, and soars.  What I like the most is that regardless of wherever my proteges end up, my contribution will always be with them like the shadow cast upon the ground.  

"...In a sky full of people only some want to fly.  Isn't that crazy?"

My particular influence will not define my students.  However, it will carry its own significance, no matter where my students go, no matter the terrain, and  no matter how high they fly.  And that is an empowering thought.  It is why I teach and it is why I love my job.

"...In a world full of people, only some want to fly.  Isn't that crazy?"

If I can now take you into the symbolism of the propeller and its likeness to cognitive development; I watch the propellers bend, almost to a stop.  At one point they even seem to go backwards.  That is how it often is watching a student struggle with a concept, developing first understandings, and that miraculous instant when something begins to make sense.  Then, like the propeller as it begins to tumble forward in its paces & revolutions, I watch in awe as my students eventually master what they have come to understand through persistence and disciplined, higher-order thinking.

"...In a heaven of people, only some want to fly.  Isn't that crazy?"
 
In the second accompanying song, "Crazy," the artist, Seal sings, "In a world full of people, only some want to fly.  Isn't that crazy?"  The lyrics echo my sentiments about learning; once a person has been exposed to intellectual flight, s/he will always want to fly.  Any other form of existence pales in comparison.  I agree with Seal about those who don't want to fly, "... It is crazy.  Ignorance may be bliss, but knowledge is power. And flying requires power.

In closing, I want to revisit Nickleback's lyrics at the opening of the video, and their significance as related to living, and learning;

"...Leave no stone unturned. Leave your fears behind, and try to take the path less traveled.  That first step you take, is the longest stride." - If today was your Last Day - Nickleback

Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. said, "Man's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions."

Seal's lyrics seem to echo that sentiment as well;

"...The size of which you've never known before
They'll break it
Someday
Only child know
Them things
The size
Of which you've never known before,
Someday "

ps  Happy Birthday David

Munchhausen Syndrome by Proxy

Guest speaker,  Maribeth Fischer speaks at the UW School of Medicine about her novel, "The Life You Longed For" - a book about Medical Munchhausen Syndrome by Proxy (Click here) .  As it turns out the mother who happens to be an Epidemiologist, appears to be guilty just may not be.

As you acquire your education, you will begin to see mathematics and science wherever you go - even in novels!

Keep challenging yourself and stretch your brain, because;

"The brain, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions."
Oliver Wendell Holmes

A Good Overview of Emotional Intelligence

The University of Wisconsin offers a series of videos on seminars such as, the 'Art of Lecturing seminar', as part of the school's medical education.  Dr. David Rakel MD.

He discusses how the emotional brain works, and the importance of making connections.  Just as a an aside, he uses a clip from the movie, "Little Miss Sunshine" - one of my favorite movies.  He discusses how we communicate without words.  

He also talks about the importance of making meaningful connections and understanding those things that give life meaning and purpose - the importance of love.

Faster Than The Speed Of Light? Six More Dimensions?

For those of you students wrestling with the concepts of Algebra, Geometry, Trigonometry and the various hypotheses, laws and constructs you are faced with in Chemistry & Physics, here is the reason why you need to master them; ideas are being bandied, in the world of the mind are slowly progressing toward the notion of a Unified Field Theory - something that eluded Einstein and continues to escape scientists who have followed him.  

The world as we know it is changing rapidly - so much so - that, what we once found to be nuanced a century ago, even decades ago and more accurately, right now is the stuff science fiction didn't even come close to predicting; truth really is stranger than fiction.  

The world of the mind is where each of you will be far more suited to play. I happen to believe it is because the time you were born makes this possible - think of Malcolm Gladwell's arguments.  That said, I strongly adhere to the notion put forth by the scientist, Louis Pasteur who famously said, "Chance favors a prepared mind." 

I cannot come close to explaining what some of these concepts described in this video mean.  However, I have every confidence that there will be people among your generation that may in fact be able to get their heads wrapped around these topics.  To that end, this is why it is so critical that each of you endeavor to master the basic intellectual building blocks you are now studying because without them, you will be left behind, and our world will be the less for it.  

Rest assured, the assiduous efforts you make today will be rewarded in the future.  And, like a spinning bicycle wheel that comes into focus only instantaneously, thus will be your education.  Borrowing from that metaphor, as sure as we cannot see the wheel turning every moment, we none the less know that it continues in its motion. This is how your learning works as well; it turns and reveals itself - stingily at times - but it is building upon a base of knowledge that will serve its purpose in due time.

Now, conceptualizing the world in six more dimensions?  I hope we get there in my life time.

Always do your best and never quit.

Note: This video qualifies as a 5 point maximum extra credit paper for your semester's final Science grade - that's a half a grade added to your final grade.  

However, it must meet the following criteria:  1500 word minimum (to 10,000 words maximum) to include a summary of the video and an exposition that discusses a topic of your choice mentioned in the video.  Make sure it is copy edited, spell checked and set-up in a word document.  

Should you elect to take this challenge, your essay on this post ought to be fun, and rewarding for you.  If you take any other approach to it, or if it ceases to be fun, then you are doing something wrong.