Showing only Notes + Links tagged learning
Sino un Estado by Carlos Fdez-Pello
This installation by Carlos Fdez-Pello suggests that knowledge is a state, not information. The literal translation of the title is “But a State.” It’s the Allegory of the Cave brought into the 21st century!
More Thoughts on Art Museums and Understanding Ourselves
Related to this post asking “Why Museums?”
Museums are like foster homes for art work. sometimes I go to feel the presence of the hand of the artistic deities that inspire me. Even if it is only a select, sparse collection of our visual culture that is represented, I am glad we have created a temple to honor these works. And I am glad that people pay homage (with admission fees and meditations upon) to these building blocks of artistic inquiry- it gives a sense of direction.
and Jonah Lehrer via my English syllabus that I got today:
What does this novel or experiment or poem or protein teach us about ourselves? How does it help us to understand who we are?
And this:
[anecdote that I can no longer find on the internet about how my favorite professors were those that I didn’t agree with because it helped me figure out where I stand in relation to them]
and this random thought:
it must be a lot slower (but more complete?) to think about where you stand in relation to everything, rather than just arbitrarily or gut-instinct-ly deciding. are they the same?
Decades of research have demonstrated that the cortex is astonishingly plastic at a young age and that many important traits and habits seem to solidify before the age of 4. (This isn’t to discount the power of plasticity in the adult brain - it just takes a lot more work to make it happen.) When combined with the brilliant work of James Heckman, this research led policymakers to realize that investing in pre-K education had an incredibly high-rate of return. Here’s a chart, demonstrating the “rate-of-return” of various public investments.
For more about the problem and how states are cutting back on early education read the full post: Investing in the Developing Brain : The Frontal Cortex.
The main things which seem to me important on their own account, and not merely as means to other things, are knowledge, art, instinctive happiness, and relations of friendship or affection.Bertrand Russell (Thanks Theresa!)
I’m very opinionated. When I was at art college, the teachers who helped me were not the ones I agreed with, or the ones who encouraged me, but the ones who took very strong positions. Because if someone does that, you can find your own position in relation to it: what is it that I don’t agree with? In the studio I want to articulate a position clearly enough so that other people can use it – or chuck it away if they don’t want it.Brian Eno, via SvN
Gut Memories : The Frontal CortexThis suggests that visual information can be encoded accurately even when one is not paying attention to it -something which has been demonstrated before - and also leads to the counterintuitive conclusion that retrieval of a memory is actually enhanced one’s attention is diverted during encoding of that memory.
Got that kids? So the next time you’re trying to remember something - like chemistry equations or state capitals - do your brain a favor and distract it. (I always told my mom that it was okay to do homework in front of the television - now I have empirical proof, just 15 years too late.) In the book, I give a related example that also demonstrates the power of implicit memory:
