Little Green Men

We send/sent space probes to float around in the Milky Way with pictorial messages attached to them. For example, the 1977 Voyager probes had golden records, with inscribed diagrams depicting the human form and our location. The records were made based on the fact that little green men can understand basic math and geometry. Why is it that math and science are used to communicate with aliens? Wouldn't they have other ways of knowing?

Intelligence

I was searching around and I found a phychologist named Howard Gardner who says that there are seven different types of intelligence.
1. Linguistic
2. Logical-Mathematical
3. Bodily-Kinesthetic
4. Spatial
5. Musical
6. Interpersonal
7. Intrapersonal
How do you think these relate/compare to the four ways of knowing that we learn in TOK?
Can both models be right or are they in conflict with each other?

I am GOD

Prove me wrong.

Language Poem

A while ago in class we read a poem called "Nothingness" by Ahron Amir about the absence of language. (If you haven't read it yet you probably will sometime this week, so you should wait and respond after looking at it in class.)

We didn't really have a chance to freely discuss it in class, so I wanted to do that here. I thought the poem raised a lot of interesting questions. First of all, what do you think about the fact that it was translated? How does that impact what it says about language?

Another thing-- most of the images it offers "Of a man flung from a treetop far above the ground", a "pilot whose parachute would not open", a stone falling to a bottomless pit, are about falling. Nearly everyone has dreams about falling, or the sensation of falling in their sleep. Could this almost instinctual, basic image be something that you can connect to without language? Is that why it's offered in this poem? I realize that the fact that it is a poem makes it hard to convey the sensation of the absence of language, but go with me here. What do you think?

One last point-- The speaker describes them self as a "non-I" in the absence of language. Do we define ourselves through language? Can a sense of identity exist without it?

What do you think? Any other things you want to discuss with this poem? Please respond! :)

Knowledge isn't Justified True Belief

Hmm... I'm not sure what this does... never was really a blogger... testing testing... 1,2,3
Let's see, so Knowledge supposedly "Justified True Belief"

Consider this situation: Bob and Jim apply for the same job.
Bob thinks Jim will get the job because Jim seems more qualified.
Jim has 10 coins in his pocket. (bob saw)
Bob concludes through his reason, logic, and emotions the knowledge claim that 'the person who will get the job has 10 coins in his pocket.'
Unbeknownst to Bob, he will actually get the job. And, though he hasn't checked his pockets, in reality, he also has 10 coins in his pocket.
Thusly, the knowledge claim was true, however,
Bob's justifications were invalid.
His belief was an incorrect "map of reality."
But he still came to the right conclusion.

Uh oh spaghetti-ohs.

Slang

So what I want to start a conversation about is the slang of "our generation." What I mean by that is right now in 2006 at Poudre High School what is the slang that we have developed and what do they mean? Looking at the 70s myself in our assignment I am wondering why it seems like alot of the things we say are just taken from other generations. Are we the generations of no new language? What will that become in the future?

Heil!

Read the title, respond.

Communism is good.. Yes?

If Communism is all for one and one for all, then how come people think of it as evil. And how does north korea work with Kim Jung il runnin the show?

P.S. all hail red china

- laughingcorpse


Teachers Note: Due to the way this question is worded, some of you may not initially see the relevancy. I ask those of you responding to put the TOK twist on this... How do people use the WoKs to come to personal conclusions about Communism and its role as a political system? -- Mr. Malone

Language, how much does it cause one to stereotype?

Hi all,
as one of the people hosting the blog this week I wanted to ask, in relation to the unit of Language as a WOK, how much do you think language effects how you judge others? And is that judgment at all based off of the politics surrounding the region the language is from? How do people stereotype just based on the way one speaks or communicates (disregard race for the time being and please just focus on language even though the two are more often than not related)?

Language in Psychology

In psychology we recently studied how language influenced culture, and vice versa. We found examples on how it did work, and how it didn't. In some examples, we could even see how language is a manifestation of culture, and how one can see aspects of a culture through the language associated with that culture (for example, in Japanese they have multiple ways of saying "I", whereas we really only have one. That could show how it is important to identify status and relationships in Japan when speaking, but maybe not so much in the U.S.). We are just starting to look at language as a WoK in TOK. Does TOK look at language the same way as psychology?

THE Answer

As has already been established by a very "reputable" source, the answer to life, the universe, and everything is....
42

Now, based on what you have experienced and what you know (and your interpretation of the answer), what is the question?

The Power of Slang

As we begin our look at Language as a WoK, we are going to consider how a specific language can define a culture, and in this instance, a generation. As part of the Slang Assignment (if you haven't been introduced to it, you will), we want you to consider and use the following slang from the decades listed below. Also provided is an on-line slang dictionary that will help you find any words that you are having a hard time finding.

1920's
1930's
1940's
1950's
1960's
1970's
1980's

Slang Dictionary

If you wish to print these lists for your use, please do so at home. They are long and would be a huge waste of paper. Have Fun...