Perception in Crash

Give an example of how perception was used as a way of knowing by a specific character in Crash. What knowledge issues affected how they percieved the world around? Explain.

Characters in Crash

Which of the characters in Crash do you feel was the most ethical?
Which was the least ethical?

Choose an action/behavior and explain how you feel that the character would justify it in the movie.

Crash Review

Follow the link to Roger Ebert's review of Crash.
Read and React... What do you think? Agree/Disagree?

As always... justify.

An Inconvenient Truth

This is a movie about global warming (which is really global climate change) and how Al Gore is trying to tell America to step it up and save the world. If you would like backgroup because you have not seen this movie please go to http://www.an-inconvenient-truth.com/ or just go to block buster and rent it! I just saw this movie a couple of days ago and had a light bub above my head when I noticed how many times Al Gore used his knowers perspective (half the time it didn't even relate to global warming but it seemed like a TOK essay in a way, not a good TOK essay, but an attempt to make one. After watching this movie or website's movie what sort of POK's are present? Are there any steps missing like there is no justification or the logic behind it is wrong or even the WOK's are even present in his arguement. Is this movie even worth of earning Al Gore a Noble Peace Prize? Tell me what you think, I curious if I am the only onethat thinks this movie is like Arcadia with some of the peoples journeys to prove something is the wrong way to do everything.

Liberal or Conservative?

When taking bias into account, everyone should recognize where they lie on the political specturm. Especially with the freedom of the press in the United States, viewpoints are thrown at you constantly, and most have bias according to how liberal or conservative the reporter or company is. The attached is a quiz that shows where you are on the spectrum. After taking the quiz, are you surprised at where you stand? Do your political beliefs taint your view of world events? I don't mean do you agree or disagree with the war in Iraq, but with everyday news like the police officer getting killed in a donut shop robbery, does your response reflect your political bias? How?

Right Brain v. Left Brain

Proper credit should be given to Rebecca Levy for finding this site.
She demands it.

Reason, Instinct & Creation

"Reason must sit at the knee of instinct and learn reverence for the miraculous instinctual capacity for creation." -Jonathan Schell
What do you think this quote is saying about the connection between reason, instinct and creation? Also, what do you think this quote is implying about ways of knowing?

Pinpoint

When modern professions are so specialized, do they gain or lose an appreciation for other disciplines? Justify.

Descriptive vs Acquaintence

Does Descriptive Knowledge always turn into Acquaintence Knowledge? For example, anti-drug ads. (My internet's down, so I'm using Katie's login).

Elizabeth

Perception of a Picture versus an Article

First, look at the picture of the kitten and allow yourself time to process it
(Imagine this cat is a cat in need of a home)

Now read the article about the need for cat adoption
How to Help a Homeless Cat

Every year millions of homeless cats are euthanized. These are adoptable and healthy cats that weren’t as lucky as some of their neighbor kitties at the shelter – the cats who found their forever homes. Many more homeless cats roam the streets, unwanted and unloved. Everyday they battle the dangers of the harsh outdoors – desperately seeking food and refuge from the elements when Mother Nature wreaks havoc. They are at great risk for disease and other dangers, such as being hit by a car or killed by a predator. The lives of these cats are very different from those of our beloved cats whom we consider our family members. And I believe each of these homeless cats, whether currently in a shelter, foster home or on the street, has the potential to be a precious, loving member of a family. Think about your cat and all the joy and love s/he brings you. What if you hadn’t been introduced to your kitty and s/he was one of the millions of homeless cats? What treasures are we missing out on with each homeless cat that dies on the street or is euthanized merely to make room for another homeless cat at an overcrowded shelter?

Did you respond more to the picture or to the article? After viewing which one would you be more likely to adopt a cat? Discuss the knowledge issues of perception in your answer.

Perceptions of Reality

I just read that a snail’s neurons pick up signals from the outside world so slowly that they literally won’t see events that happen any faster than three seconds. For example, if a snail was looking at an apple and you quickly snatched it with your hand, the sail wouldn’t detect your hand. To the snail, the apple would appear to vanish into thin air.[1]

In comparison to other animals, our nervous systems are also rather slow.

If seeing is believing…
What kinds of things could we be missing?
How do we know that the things we are sensing are REAL?
As a TOK student, how is your perception limited?

Also, consider this:
Atoms are made up of packets of energy, which are invisible with no mass or size. Also, every object is 99.9999% empty space at the atomic level. So at a deeper level, your hand is just invisible vibrations taking place in a void, which go in and out of existence millions of times per second.

How does this alter your view of reality?

-Kacey

[1] Deepak, Chopra. How to Know God. New York: Harmony Books Inc., 2000.

Wikipedia (PG langauge)

Is Wikipedia true?

Turning knots into bows

There are different kinds of thinking; they can be broadly categorized into five types:

1. Natural thinking: Fluid and undirected; it wanders and meanders. Subject to repetition and generalizations. The kind of thinking that goes on when we don't think we're thinking.
2. Logical thinking: Selects a route and follows it to its conclusion. The solution is largely predetermined, so if you head off in the wrong direction you end up painting yourself into a corner.
3. Pattern thinking: Confines thoughts to operate within given rules. Therefore solutions are limited the the possibilities within the pattern.
4. Lateral thinking: Purposeful in intent without specific aim. This can reveal solutions which might have been overlooked in other approaches.
5. Grasshopper thinking: Our usual thought; jumps around alternating and mixing between reasoning which adheres to measurable responses, and imagining which allows unpredictable currents to play around with data.
   

Which of these seem to produce the most answers/solutions? Do particular thinking types correspond to particular personality types or learning styles?

Does anyone actually think in words? Literally where everything you think is spelled out in words running through your head.

Education seems to allocate more value to logic and analytical thinking kills than to imaginative conjectures. Is this true? How does it influence our learning?

Language also plays a part. Have you ever noticed that when we don't agree with someone we say "I don't think so...."? The "think so" literally indicates a proscribed route. Does that mean when disagreeing with a person, we only disagree because we are predisposed to?

I'm sorry theres so many questions here, I was just thinking while driving to Cheyenne, but feel free to answer whatever you want, I would be most appreciative.

"Logic is the art of thinking and reasoning in strict accordance with the limitations and incapacities of the human misunderstanding." -Ambrose Bierce-

HIV doesn't cause AIDS... ??

I was doing biology homework... and researching information on AIDS... when this article came up. It's quite long, but I thought it had an interesting relevance to ToK. You can skim the article to get the general idea.

How does the doubt behind whether or not the HIV/AIDS correlation = causation imply knowledge issues and why do we, as a general population, ignore protests like these even if there is support behind them?

Just curious also, what do you guys think might happen if these scientists/authors are correct and eventually it is found that AIDS has a different cause, or HIV is only a factor in enabling AIDS to be contracted? How will that weaken our trust in modern science and how will it affect our society?

Do they provide enough evidence to be taken seriously?

Art and Discovery

I was listening to NPR today and they had a segment on how the discoveries of the "new world" impacted the Renassance artists during that time era. I was thinking about my own art and how many people find it easier to find inspiration from new unkown materail or subjects rather than things they know well, and i was wondering why this might be, what about new objects inspire artists?

A Question

WTF?

Justify...

Artists and Writers

In a comment on a recent post about perception and art, Ben claims the following...

"Why teach art classes if art is subjective? I don't need an art class to be an artist, is what we're saying. Is that what we are saying? Is art education pointless?"

In the same line of thinking... many argue that one is a writer if one writes.

If this is the case, can one be a writer without taking writing classes as it is suggested about artists? Or do you believe that neither is the case?

What do you think? Justify...

Ethics and Morals

So the Seniors will get this more since we just talked about this in English. If the ethical code says that one cannot kill an animal in an expieriment, is it not a "grey zone" between morals and ethics when one decides how much they can stress the animal and still be "ethical"? By definition ethics should have to personal bias, but is not true that few things work the way they should in the real world? Does it not make sense that in out imperfect world ethics would have some personal bias as well?

Arcadia

So we have almost finished Arcadia. The Theatre in the Classroom group will be coming in on Monday for 3rd hour and Tuesday for 5th and 7th to perform the final scene of the play. After this, we (the actors and I) will be leading a talk back concerning the play, both specifically and in a greater context. Therefore, I would love it if you could give any questions that you have concerning the play that we could address in the talk-back. I'll then try to incorporate it, and hopefully that will help it to run smoothly! So, any questions or topics of discussion?

The Collegian

The Collegian's Editor in Chief didn't get fired from his job. What is your response to this and what are your jusifications behind it?

the nature of knowledge

This part of Arcadia intrigued me in particular, and I wanted to get other people's opinions. Tom Stoppard introduces the concept that knowledge is cyclical. The library of alexandria and all the knowledge it contained was burned, as was the hermitage's wealth of the apparantly lunatic scribblings of a madman (genius). Thomasina's own mathmatical musings (iterations), though abandoned by the originator, were taken up again years later by Valentine. I think that although some knowledge is discovered repeatedly, humans are making a general progression into as of yet undiscovered material. I realize that I may well share Valentines bias, but I still am having a hard time believing that knowledge so revolutionary to us in the 21st century may have been discovered long ago the first time around. I am struggling with the concept that advanced though we may view ourselves, knowledge as Stoppard would have it is more cyclical than progressive - that all the literary works of alexandria will one day be rewritten. At the same time, but through a literary lense, with archetypes as evidence, I can see how some aspects of knowledge can be considered tried and true. What do you think?

Beauty

As per today's discussion, what do you guys consider to be beautiful?

How do you justify it?

Has it ever impeded/aided you in acquiring knowledge?

How does in interact with knowledge issues?

Well, it's that time of year again.

Time for me to host the blog that is!
Perception. I love it. You love it. We all love it. Let's exercise it, shall we?
Below (or above, I don’t know how this thing works) I have posted a link to a website. If you have already seen it, be patient, and if not, boy are you in for a treat. The site offers something to the viewer, that thing is a test on art. The test gives you 16 images and you discern which ones are considered art, and which ones are something the author fished out of a dumpster. Notice how what one person perceives as art is different from another. Please, if you do take this quiz, post your score with your response to the following question:

Does this [the test] prove that art is pointless?

Thank you, and goodnight/day/month/year/slash-mark.

P.S. – If you are still starved perception quizzes, you can also visit the other website listed below.

Art Quiz -
http://www.modestypanel.com/artorcrap/#

Other Perception Quiz -
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/%7Epennck/pboc/

'Give us this day our daily mask'

As quoted from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead by Tom Stoppard. And now I shall quote from the movie V for Vendetta, which is based off of the graphic novel by [Alan Moore, not Neil Gaiman]. "We all wear masks. Life creates them and forces us to find one that fits."

Now, my question to you guys is, are masks hindrances in finding truth, or do they reflect them? And, of course, why?

Equal or not?

Hi all, I would like to pose a question to you-

Equality is one of the values that we as both human beings and Americans hold most dear. It is one of the basic principles that this country was founded on. Still another value that we hold dear is individuality, and our ability to express ourselves and be unique. I think that is fair to assume that humanity has not reached the level of equality that many wish to. S0 despite our considerable effort towards reaching equality, we all still treasure our individuality. Someone can be an incredible musician, and terrible at math, and it can be vise-versa as well. Thus I ask you this does equality rely on our abilities? Also then no matter what personal talents, or virtues someone else has, do we treat them as equal? How do we then define equality without contradicting ourselves and pointing out that persons qualities that make him or her an individual. I guess my final question is are we to treat everyone equal regardless of their talents or faults, even is it defies what we think of as "ethical, or moral."

Have a great nite;)

Perfect Clone Theory: Fate vs Free Will

I though of this today so this is an original theory, this is a theory attempting to find the truth in the free will vs. fate arguments.
So I don't really have a clue about the current cloning situation, but we can maybe clone a goat? OK, so the following situation will be completely hypothetical. Much like allegory in the cave one has to go with the scenario and please don't say, this could never happen because... just go with it from where I leave off. I will leave off questions and will respond to comments appropriately. The whole scenario will not be fully explained in the initial post and more will be added, depending on the comments.

So there is a man the subject of "Perfect Cloning". Perfect Cloning is cloning to the exact molecule, where normal cloning emphasizes only gene replication, perfect cloning is everything, the amount of hair, the exact mass down to the last atom, the piece of food stuck to the teeth, the bacteria living on the skin, every single detail of this man, and the organisms present within or on this man down to the last atom. The man gains consciousness within a room, where the clone will gain consciousness in a "perfect clone room" where the room is replicated in exactly the same detail as the originals, down to the last atom. Emphasis is on every single freaking detail, the exact temperature , humidity, air pressure... and time. The location is on the same latitude and longitude of the earth to equalize the time due to to rotation of the earth. The clone's room is on top of the originals, so modifications of air pressure and stuff may be needed. The rooms are exactly the same, down to the last atom! The man regains consciousness at the same time as the clone. The man says, "where am I?"

The question is, would the clone also say the same thing at exactly the same time, as well as with the exact same movements? ie. air released, temperature change, same volume?

Lets use some math.
Say the two rooms, on a molecular level are exactly the same.
R1 and R2 are set equal to each other, so we have:
R1 represents the original room, and R2 the exact replica of the room.
R1=R2
Let M1 represent the original man and M2 represent the clone
R1+M1=R2+M2, assume this is true in terms of whatever, lets use mass as an example. (feel free to substitute mass with anything else)
Mass=X
So original room and the original man combined makes
R1+M1=X1
R2+M2=X2

thus

X1=X2

The question becomes, is this equation true for if X becomes something abstract like the brain frequencies of a human and clone, or the thoughts generated by the human and clone? What about concrete stuff like mass and pressure and movements?

Dress code/Religious symbols

In French right now we’re discussing Islamic veils and their role in school. There was an issue in France where two girls wore their veils to school and were consequently expelled as church and state are supposed to be separated and the schools are part of the state. However, there was disagreement about whether this violated personal liberty. So long as the religious symbol is “discreet” it can be worn, such as crosses or such, but it’s up to the principal to determine whether the symbol is discreet.

In class the issue of which veil came up. Some people argued that a burkha or nikab would be a safety concern since you wouldn’t know who was actually wearing it. However, there was a general consensus that just the head covering was alright; many people compared it to a hat.

Other issues were:

Gang symbolism is not allowed so why would religious symbols be?

Hate crimes

Using religion as an excuse for wearing whatever you wanted and not abiding by the dress code

In the U.S. we have a protected right that allows us to express ourselves, and yet some schools, public schools, have uniforms. What if one wishes to express themselves through their clothing? I understand that the uniforms are in order to establish equality among students, yet how does this not infringe upon personal freedom of expression?

Perception seems to be the primary way of knowing as it is purely a visual experience. For example, my cousin in Louisiana goes to a school were uniforms are mandatory. She put blue streaks in her hair over the summer, and when she came back to school she was suspended for two days until she got rid of them. It was purely a visual thing. Logic would dictate that you abide by the laws, and our bill of rights is fairly clear.

I don’t understand how demonstrating your faith to someone else is forcing that faith upon them.

Symbols

I had an interesting conversation with my mother yesterday. We had somehow got into a discussion about how different symbols mean things to people. When she asked me what symbols I would use for different ideas, we were pretty amazed at my answers. Here they are:

Hate: a heart
Freedom: chains
Faith: sunrise
Knowledge: flame
Learning: books
Happiness: an open space in which to be myself

I know this may sound a bit cheesy, but I'd be interested in what everyone sees as a symbol for each of these ideas. (and your justifications for them) If anyone wants me to justify mine I'd be happy to as well.

Love

When someone says, I know I am in love. What are they saying? What justifications are they using? Is this really a PJTB? How does love fit into all of this?

Faith vs Intuition

What is the difference between faith and intuition? As I was writing Journal #3 for class on Monday, I had to decide whether one of my justifications for my belief was faith or intuition. I instinctively knew that it should be intuition, but I was curious about the difference. I decided to post it on the blog because I thought that it might be a problem that all of us would run into at one time or another, especially when trying to justify a tricky belief :-)

Footnote for spoof raises awareness

Also, for the spoof raises awareness, to see the website, just click on the title "Spoof raises Awareness" and it will take you there. Something else to think about: is it ok for this company to have this fake website in order to raise awareness???

Spoof raises awareness

The other day I read an article about mail order bride agencies (yes they do actually exist) where someone set up a website of mail order brides that were between age 13 and 22 in order to raise awareness of the problem. At first I thought it was silly to assume that this was a huge problem in the modern world but then a simple google search gave me over 2,000 websites in which a person could literally look at pictures of women then pay money to have that person shipped to the U.S. I thought this was morally incorrect...but was interested to see what other people think, I mean, lots of women people sign up for the bride agencies by free will because they need a means to achieve a goal, like being supported financially for life. I dunno, I posted a link to one of the websites just so you guys can check it out. Anyways, go take a look and tell me what you think.

Communist leaders

As the IB seniors know, we've been studying four major communist leaders over the past couple of weeks (if you dont know,a) you have probably been living under a rock and, b) Mr. Brown will come after you wish his little spray bottle):
Stalin, Lenin, Castro, and Mao

How could they justify the murders, corruption and other atrocities? Was it faith that they were doing the right thing for the country? Or was it personal ambition? Or a combination of both?

While reading Crime and Punishment, I found a quote from Svidrigailov "...Reason is the slave of passion, you know, why, probably, i was doing more harm to myself than anyone!" (280) Does this apply to the people under these leaders? The Chinese population of the time (especially the children who were being educated) seemed to worship Mao, saw him as a god, and wouldn't even wash their hands if he had shook them. Yet, the famine that was a result of his "vision" for the country killed millions, and he would kill anyone believed to be a rightist. Did the peoples adoration blind them to this? Or was it fear (isn't there a syndrome like this in kidnappings...? I may be totally making this up, but I think the kidnappee starts to like their abductor...)?

Blog Posting

I first want to thank you all for beginning this year in such a positive light when it comes to blog posting. Again, by you remaining mature, thoughtful adults, you are making it possible for future students to expand what we can do as a TOK class. Great work so far. But as we begin the blog logging process (starting this week!), I want to make a few comments based on the teachers' and students' perspective...

1. Mrs. King and I have said this to you all but please remember... your use of this blog is related to how well you will perform on the final essay and presentations... It will help... we promise. So take advantage.

2. Think about what you post... Simple questions are great but be thoughtful in how you present your ideas and potential debate topics. Ask for what you want... justifications? claims and counterclaims? etc.

3. Discuss! You have taken to posting so well that we are drowning in posts and comments have been lacking lately. Your initial ideas and thoughts are great, but until you talk, challenge one another's ideas and respond to what you read, you will be limiting your own skills. So slow down on posting a bit and take some time to comment.
(There will be ebbs and flows with this aspect of the blog but please help keep it balanced)

3. Use your TOK skills! Use the language, the concepts, personal examples... and Justify, Justify, Justify.

Art

This post is dedicated to SamE. God bless his soul.

So, going off the idea of EE, I feel that I owe it to all of you to present to you the possibility of deciding whether or not something is art. Andres Serrano's Piss Christ has raised more controversy than any other single art piece in the last century (keep in mind that Mapplethorpe's X-Portfolio was just that, a portfolio. 15 photos). I think it is art. It follows the vast majority of the elements and principles of design, and despite that it is still being argued over--admittedly less religiously than before. I say we recreate 1989 right here, and supply evidence for both sides of the argument.

Protesters Uprising

In history, there have been many protests , even when United States of America was first formed, they were able to gain their independence through protesting and basically "opposing" the British government. So in South Korea, in May 18th, 1980, Gwangju citizens protested against the government. Wikipedia Entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwangju_Massacre
Read the Wikipedia entry.


Also read the US involvement Article: http://www.kimsoft.com/korea/usknew.htm

What I'm asking is this,

Just discuss about it...

I personally really did not like the whole ordeal. The idea actually is that (don't quote me on this but just fyi), Chun Doo Hwan actually moved against a certain type of Koreans in the area. The country is divided to states just like US except not as much. But Chun Doo Hwan came from a different state which was against the general people who came from the state he attacked. It has been for generations, but why did he do such a thing?? Just by the way Chun Doo Hwan is actually still alive and is rich off of government money.


It is clearly informed that the US was informed of the event.

One Nation Under Surveillance

Here is a debate that has been raging for quite some time now. Ever since the Patriot Act, the issue of government surveillance over the public has been hotly contested. This type of monitoring over its citizens includes phone tapping and cameras on street corners and high traffic areas.

Overall, does the government have the right to “spy” on its own citizens?
Is there enough justification for the government to install surveillance cameras in public areas?
Does this photograph represent the United States in a fair light?

This photo is courtesy of David Foster, a contact of mine in a photography magazine that I contribute to.




One Nation Under Surveillance

Slavery and Truth

In 7th hour today, we got into a discussion of how slavery could be validated with truth tests, especially the pragmatic theory. Because it was useful and valuable to a people, the knowledge claim that 'it is right to enslave others' was accepted as a properly justified true belief for sometime. This led to the discussion about slavery today, and why most cultures disagree and see this claim would be seen as untrue, even though enslaving others could still be argued to be a pragmatic practice.For a shocking look about slavery in the 21st century, take a look at this National Geographic site. I will try to find the actual magazine (it's buried somewhere in my house), but in the meantime, this gives a pretty grim picture of the enlightened world in which we live.

Mrs. King

Language of Faith

Okay so in class a week ago some people in our 5th hour TOk class got into a discussion about the word faith verses the word belief. To use an authority we decided to look this up in a dictonary to see if anyone's justifications were correct. I neever saw this before, before listening to my classmates; it is very surpriing how much you can learn if you listen to what people have to say but any ways in the dictonary the word faith and believe are almost interchangable, this taking into account was a very old dictonary that I asked a Science teacher to use. What do you think of this? Take a look at your dictonary at home and see if it has anything to say about them being similar. Then tell what you think it means personally, is faith and believe have the meaning to be switched?

Gun Control

Today in seventh hour, we got into a discussion concerning gun control in he US, in relationship to Pragmatic Theory. It was suggested that both sides to the argument (for and against) were justifiable through all three theories, and so there is no clear side. Like Hegel's theory, this creates a thesis and an antithesis. My question is, how do you (the TOK student) justify this controversial subject? How can you apply these theories to this, to properly justify your true beliefs so that you know something? Can two different people discussing the same topic know two completely different things? What other areas or topics of discussion can this apply to?

Ugliness

In San Francisco, persons classified as "ugly" may not walk down any street. This is a true law. If you are, as I asked my Business Law teacher, you would be arrested.

My first reaction was that this law was absolutely ridiculous. I understand laws to keep the city beautiful (recycling, air pollution prevention) but to this extent?

What kind of scale is this judged upon? So far in my life experience I've never heard of an 'ugly scale.' I feel its relative to every person: after all, isn't beauty in the eye of the beholder? Or is that just a stupid outdated notion disproved by the media again and again today?

Now, its definitely constitutional because it doesn't violate the first amendment: what does it violate? How would you feel if you were told you classified as ugly and were arrested and fined?

Just Words

I got into an interesting discussion the other day about the power of words. I was thinking about how the same words, said at different times, can have two totally different effects. My question is this: Do words in and of themselves have power, or does the power lay in the emotion that we invest in them?

Laughter in the Classroom

So, I've begun to notice how, in my classes outside of the IB world, that students show an increasing amount of disrespect towards teachers. I would never dream of this, but many of them laugh at, talk over, and make fun of their teachers in class, specifically when the teacher is talking. Why? These men and women are adults, older, wiser, and in charge. Perhaps these students feel that they no longer need to act like good little children, but respect is still necessary. So, what do you all think? Is there anyway to justify the behavior? What does this suggest of the morals of the new generation? What does this mean for future generations?

As much as I hate bringing MySpace into this...

There is something that has been really getting under my skin at an increasing level. This irksome problem I speak of is the content of the posts on the Poudre Myspace forum. It seems that 95% of these posts consist of students “arguing” back and forth about politics and ethics. I placed arguing in quotations because what they do is closer to pre-pubescent boys shot full of testosterone squabbling over who sucks more. Insults are hurled back and forth and are filled with disgusting slurs that would make the biggest bigot proud and spelling and grammar that would make even a fifth grade teacher cringe. These people seem to think it’s OK, actually not OK, but cool, to toss around profanities, threats, and slurs without a second thought. I’d like to think that they don’t understand the seriousness of what they’re saying, but intuition tells me otherwise which makes me seriously concerned about the state of their moral character.

The intensity of hate that I witness on the boards seriously concerns me as well. These threats, slurs, and profanities are coming from people who are 18 and younger. How can someone have so much hate inside them at such a young age? Have they been raised to act/think like that? Has something truly awful happened to them to change their point of view? Or have they just adopted that persona to fit in, and if that’s the case, when did hate become cool? Doesn’t anyone realize that if a serious politician read what they were writing they’d be deeply ashamed and quite possibly horrified?



(This is the abridged version of what I initially wrote because I felt like I should cut some things out because they didn’t really pertain to TOK.)

What Determines A Legacy?

The recent passing of the great tenor Luciano Pavarotti who has greatly influenced and exposed Italian opera to the world, has awoken a new question inside me. What determines a legacy? Is it influence? Is it brilliance? or what?

Talking Nonsense

So, as I was re-reading Crime and Punishment I came upon this passage that I thought could be applied to tok.

"I like them to talk nonsense. That's man's one privilege over all creation. Thought error you come to the truth! I am a man because i err! You never reach any truth without making fourteen mistakes and very likely a hundred and fourteen. And a fine thing, too, in it's way; but we can't even make mistakes on our own account! Talk nonsense, but talk your own nonsense, and I'll kiss you for it. To go wrong in one's own way is better than to go right in someone else's. I the first case you are a man, in the second you're no better than a bird. Truth won't escape you, but life can be cramped. There have been examples. And what are we doing now? In science, development, thought, invention, ideals, aims, liberalism, judgement, experience and everything, everything, everything, we are still in the preparatory class at school. We prefer to live on other people;s ideas, it's what we are used to! Am I right, Am i right?"(Crime and Punishment 202-203)

I was wondering what other people thought of Razumihin's drunken ravings, for I personally found that I agreed with a majority of it.

9/11's Around the corner...

So everyone who's been keeping their eyes on the calendar knows that 9/11 is right around the corner. Normally this day is used to improve nationalism and to unite our country in an effort to protect itself and honor those who lost their lives six years ago.

However this year, activist groups are taking a different look at this day. Marches are going to be held on Washington DC, people are encouraged to speak out against this war. 9/11 is supposed to be a day without school, work, buying or anything. We are encouraged to 'Hit the Streets'.

I'm still trying to make up my own mind on how I feel about this event, but I figured I had a huge resource of ideas and opinions within IB. What do you guys think about using this day to pose a strike and to have this particular month filled with various protests, etc.? I know that one can claim that it's not ok to use this particular day to protest the war, but is it really ok to use this day to encourage it? If it's the lives of those lost that we're trying to honor, then why are we sacrficing more in this 'Endless War'?

While looking this stuff up, I came across quite a few outraged editorial authors who commented on Congress' recent decision to allow Bush the power to montior and 'wiretap without a warrent for 6 months.' We learned while reading Anthem, I believe, that Liberty/Freedom and Safety are in a constant tug-of-war. What do you guys think about this? About the fact that our freedoms are disappearing for 'safety'... and even that 'safety' is questionable.

So... I don't know if I'll be in school on Tuesday or not, but I want to know your opinions.

What's On the news

I saw a news story on CNN that I though was a joke at first, but it was real. It made me think about what is covered on the news, and what do the stories say about our culture and it's morals? I tried to provide a link to the video. What do you think?

Creative Limits?

Throughout my educational career, I have noticed astounding similarities in both literature and artwork. So, very simply, my question is this: Are there limits to creativity?

Illusion or Reality?

Are there such things as illusion and reality? Or are they two different ways of looking at one side of a coin? If so, what's the other side?