Sense Perception and Rapid Cognition

How did you react to your results?  Were you surprised?  Angry or hurt? Pleased?  Discuss what you felt and why you think you felt what you did.

I was pleasantly surprised. In the first test, only 2% of people got my score. In the second, only 1% did. It was pretty exciting, because I felt special. Plus, I liked my score. It didn't offend me. I agree with it, now that I know what it is.

Do you believe that your test results say something about you that you should pay attention to?  Why or why not?

Well, I think that I should really try to love everyone equally. Both tests showed a "strong preference for" _____ over _____. I always felt like I was neutral in terms of feelings for racial groups and other groups. 

Do you think that these tests are valid?  When you first saw your results, did you question or accept the tests' validity?

I think they are valid. I was surprised, but I liked my answers.  I think that's why I think they're valid: if I didn't agree with them, I'd probably question their validity. That has ToK connections, right?

Give examples of the cultural messages that many support attitudes linking a dominant group in your nation or culture with "good" or "superior" attributes and a subordinate group with "bad" or "inferior" ones. Are these attitudes generalizations that can be called stereotypes?  How can generalizations be distinguished from stereotypes?

I believe that there is an innate belief in American culture that men are superior, mainly because of the way that this country was built with only male presidents and only males on the money, etc. For example, the idea of a housewife. There is no househusband. That word does not exist, at least in America. Also, women's reproductive rights are slowly diminishing, and we're losing control over our own bodies. The government is involved with women's very private matters, such as whether or not a woman will get an abortion, and not with men's, and I think that this is due to generalizations of women (and men). But I don't think it's a stereotype. 

If some of our consciously held beliefs, attitudes, and values are undermined by what Gladwell calls rapid cognition (others call this intuitive thinking or even gut feelings), what do you suggest we can do to combat jumping to (false) conclusions?

I've always been a fan of thinking things through thoroughly before making decisions. I usually don't trust my gut. I'm too scared of my gut. I usually trust logic, and not just feelings. Whenever someone tells me to "go with my gut", I feel like, "oh, god. I don't even know how to do that." 

Question 6 follows class discussion of the examples below (please don't view early).

I think that the two cases are vastly different. I think that Mikey's case was silly, because he was just a child who had the same name as a criminal, but that the other case was unjust and ridiculous. I cannot believe that those people were found not guilty. This is a perfect example of why American police should not carry guns. This picture says all I want to say but can't because I'm worried I'll get mad:

 

Sense Perception

Choose three real-life situations

1. one of your IB subjects; 
2. Music
3. one Sochi 2014 WinterOlympics sport (click on "Sport" under the Olympics rings); and
4. Rhythmic gymnastics 
5. any specific area of knowledge
6. the arts

Examine how knowledge gained by sense perception helps individual(s) be "successful" in each real-life situation.

In IB music, sense perception is absolutely necessary, because you need to hear the music to fully understand it. You cannot be successful in IB music if you can't listen to the music. I don't necessarily agree with this statement, and I wish that hearing impaired people could succeed in IB music and it was more all-inclusive, but it's really not. We've had entire tests where we just listen to a piece and then analyze it, and we don't even get to look at the score.

In rhythmic gymnastics, it's necessary to feel the beat of the rhythm in your body while you're performing. Gymnastics is a sport and an art, like dance, and if you can feel the rhythm, it helps you be successful at rhythmic gymnastics.

In the area of knowledge, the arts, sense perception is helpful because you need it for every art: dance, theater, visual art, and music. For dance, you need to feel the movements and hear the music. For theater, you need to portray strong emotions that you might not feel, but you still need to figure out how to feel them. For visual art, you need to see what it is you want to create and then use your hands (or a computer) to create it. And for music, you need to hear what's interesting about a piece in order to analyze it, you need to hear what would sound good while composing, and you just generally need sense perception in music in order to succeed.

Other Symbols for Earth

Symbols & Knowledge

• What is(are) the cultural origin(s) of the symbol?
•  The alchemical symbol for earth, which is pictured above, has roots in ancient Greece and Rome.
• Describe the knowledge portrayed by the symbol. 
• Plato believed that it helped people understand the cosmos: fire, air, water, and earth.
• Is the symbol emotive, ambiguous or vague? 
• I believe that it is emotive, because the element of Earth is often associated with sensuality in occultism and even sometimes in literature. I believe that sensuality is an emotional feeling of attraction or attractiveness, and I think that attraction comes hand in hand with emotion.
• What are the problems of knowledge you identify for the symbol?
• The paragraph about it states that "In Classical Greek and Roman myth, various goddesses represented the Earth, seasons, crops and fertility, including Demeter and Persephone; Ceres; the Horae (goddesses of the seasons), and Proserpina; and Hades (Pluto) who ruled the souls of dead in the Underworld." I think that this could be a little bit confusing, because Demeter and Persephone are so fertile and beautiful, and Hades is the god of the dead, so this symbol could represent two drastically different things.
• Find one or more additional symbols that seem similar to you to explore.
• 
  
• 
  

The 16th Man Reflection

B. Blog reflection assignment—construct a well formulated reflection about “The 16th Man” and the following Nelson Mandela quote:

“Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope, where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than governments in breaking down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all types of discrimination.”

• Learner Profile Traits:

Justice Bekebeke exhibited the learner profile trait of caring by doing what he thought was the right thing for others. Mandela exhibited the trait of caring as well, because he forgave everyone who imprisoned him.

• Ways of Knowing:

In terms of the Mandela said that sport “speaks to youth in a language they understand”. He used language to convince people that the game of rugby really can “create hope, where there was only despair.” In terms of sense perception, I feel as though playing the rugby match in the rain may have acted, although they didn’t know it, as a kind of baptism- a kind of new life for everyone. These are a few ways of knowing that are used in The 16th Man.

• Areas of Knowing:

I suppose that sport has the capacity to be considered a human science. I think that, anthropologically, the very culture of sport has the power to unite a group of people into a kind of mob mentality. For example, during the Super Bowl, people who don’t even know the football teams that are playing will get together and celebrate each other’s company with “Super Bowl Parties”. They’ll all eat buffalo wings and cheer for whichever team they think is going to win. I think that having a common enemy (the other team) can really motivate a group of people to band together. Most of the time in history, though, this has turned out to be very bad. However, here, they didn’t have a common enemy - they just had a common goal.