BBT Week 7

Friday, September 27th, 2013

Why is knowledge like a map?

Knowledge is like a map in the sense that it "expands" constantly and continuously experiences changes. Every day, as we receive new information, our knowledge of the world faces changes, sometimes distortions of some aspects, sometimes amplification of other features. Knowledge is like a map in the sense that it cannot cover everything. We cannot have knowledge of everything going in the world based on time and location among other factors. Knowledge and maps also have a similarity in the aspects they are focused on based on the different individuals. Just as some maps may concentrate on keeping an accurate ratio between the continents, the knowledge of each specific individual delves into the areas the individual decides to expand on. A student might decide to explore mathematics while another might decide to look into linguistic abilities, because they have different areas of interest. Knowledge and maps are similar in the sense that they cannot contain all the features, represent everything. The features and information they comprise all depend on the individuals.

Weekly Blog Post #7

Tuesday, September 24th, 2013

Love, from a Romantic View and a Biological View

We had talked about the effect of knowledge on us, how it shapes our world. And recently, as I was going over a couple of concepts, I thought about the extent of this influence upon my views of how the world is. For this, let's take a look at the concept of love.

Society has romanticized the concept of love greatly. Taking a look at teen novels and magazines, we can read about the "instantaneous crushes", "the madness of love", "the folly it inspires", "the power it gives to overcome any obstacle", and all. Watching movies, we see the perfect guy, tender, affectionate, romantic, knowing everything that a girl wants; the ideal couples, who seem to live in a little bubble of their own and are happy, happy, happy, living and loving happily ever after.

Contrasted to this apparent ideal love life, I hear about the scientific views of love, that crushes all hopes of romanticism. According to biology, love is a chemical reaction and the raging of hormones. I remember clearly my biology teacher's words: "Yes, we always say 'I love him' or 'I love her'. But what we actually love is not the individual in question, but the hormones and chemicals our bodies produce when the individual is at sight. We associate those 'feel-good-hormones' to the individual we love. So, technically speaking, love can be seen as the equivalent of a chemical reaction and hormonal changes.". Added to that, I hear about the evolutionary theory of partner selection. Everything we do is based on evolution. Men have to show off their qualities, and women fall for the ones who do the best job at promoting their talents. It is all based on survival and on passing on the genes. Apart from the scientific point of view, I hear about the terrible heartbreaks that occur in some relationships, my aunt no marrying because she was abandoned by a guy she had dated for years. I look at real-life situations, and shudder at the bitterness that can ensue at the end of love. I consider and reflect upon all of these situations. I could become a cynic in love, deciding to never fall in love or express my feelings to the person I love.
Yet, despite the knowledge I have, I stay positive and hopeful. Yes, things may happen. But these things do not necessarily have to be. So many good things happen in life. Knowledge of the bads can stop from having fun, enjoying. On the contrary, as much as my knowledge can contribute to a cynical view of the world, I know about good deeds that show the good. Knowledge is not just based on facts, data, concrete evidence. It is also based on hope and faith, and the conviction in these beliefs. That is why I always smile. Because it is when I look at life with a smile that life will smile at me. Keep hope. Keep smiling.

A Small Insight #4

On the Origin of Memories

As it was a beautiful day on Saturday, I decided to ride my bike. It had been a while since I had gone to ride my bike, and it was an extremely nice and relieving experience. However, my purpose is not to give a description of my bike ride. I would like to focus on a sight and the consequent reflections I made.

As I got closer to a mini lake, I perceived two ducks. Frightened by my arrival, the ducks that had been peacefully resting in the warmth of the sun began to waddle hurriedly away. I could not suppress my laughs of amusement, watching their frantic race to get away from me. But suddenly, in the midst of my giggling, an image struck my mind. I remembered a particular toy I used to play with in my childhood, that I had received at the age of four. The toy consisted of a mother duck with her three ducklings, all four attached as a little train with a string to pull the toy. A tune would come out when the ducks were pulled, and this tune resonated in my head. I remembered how I used to play with this toy, amused by how the ducks would trail behind me and sing a little tune. For some reason, after this memory crossed my mind, it remained, attracting other sweet memories of my childhood back to me. 

This episode made me think about the discussion with Dr Schoolman about memory again, about the origin of memory. Hadn't Marcel Proust developed a series of book entitled On the Search of Lost Time related with this topic? Wasn't his source of inspiration the memories triggered by the taste of a madeleine, reminding him of his aunt? It made me question the origin of memories. It made me reflect upon the strength of these memories, and their intricacy intertwining them with our mind.

Weekly Blog Post #6

Monday, September 16th, 2013

Cultural Measures of "Intelligence"

In Korea, playing golf is like a cultural imperative. Golf is an intrinsic part of Korean culture, and all adults go out to play gold during weekends, or when they have the time. For example, I had to learn how to play golf at a young age, when I was in elementary school though I forget the exact age. And since then, every time I go to Korea, my grandmother, my dear grandmother, always dedicates around an hour a day to improve my play. Going back to my point, in Korea, golf is a cultural imperative because it is like a social event for adults. As teenagers party, or go to movies, or have sleepovers, to hang out and talk with friends, adults take the opportunity of playing golf to gossip, tell each other news, and all. In Korea, it is not only about the golfing, it is also (and almost more importantly) about the occurrences afterwards, as in the dinner and drinking and occasional karaoke singing. 

My father does not really enjoy participating in these social events. Although he does not admit it, he does not manage to really fit in the Korean population, especially the 100% Korean men. He usually feels at odd, does not appreciate the same things as they do. My father would simply like to play golf and return home, not stay with the other men for hours to talk/argue and drink. My father probably has the hardest time in getting along with the Koreans, and I daresay he does not appreciate Koreans that much, if not at all.

Furthermore, my father is not a really good golf player. He often comes home angry and infuriated. At the beginning, I associated his anger with frustration at seeming inferior to the others playing with him. However, my mother revealed to me how, in Korea, adults often associate golf skills with intelligence. Therefore, my father not playing golf that well may be seen as due to a lack of intelligence. I was surprised. This statement reflected how deeply golf was intertwined with Korean society, to the point that an individual's intellect was measured with his/her golf play.

This whole episode made me think about a number of things. For one, it made me think about the cultural barrier. Though mostly built by language differences, cultural barriers also arise from cultural shocks or differences. My father was facing a cultural barrier when he was with Korean men, because he did not understand (or try to understand) their way of having fun, of interaction, of entertainment. He could not manage to get along with them and befriend them because of their cultural differences, even though they were from the same country of heritage, Korea. It made me think about (once again, out of the many many many other times) how cultural barriers do not need to arise among people of different countries. Sometimes, there were stronger walls between people from the same country, but with different background, different life stories. For another, this episode made me think about the different ways that different cultures/countries evaluate intelligence in individuals. I would never have guessed that knowledge could be so heavily based upon a sport that consisted of hitting a ball with a club. It made me wonder about how I may be seen in front of different cultures. I may have appeared to be an idiot without even knowing it, only because I could not abide to a practice due to my ignorance of its existence and intrinsic importance to the culture.

(As a sidenote, I'd like to say that I play golf well, and that I am not seen as stupid along those standards at least.)

A Small Insight #3

 Reaction to the Gorrilla Experiment

When you sent the link to the experiment, I immediately clicked on it because I was curious about what it was about. Mm, it might have been better if I hadn't known that the title of the experiment was "The Gorrilla Experiment".

When I saw the title, I immediately thought "Oh, I'm guessing that there's going to be a gorrilla that comes out at some point in this experiment.". Even as I was counting the number of passes, as the video instructed, my mind contiuously waited for a gorrilla to pop out. When a gorrilla did suddenly casually walk in the scene, I felt so satisfied ("Ha! I was right!") that I got slightly distracted from counting. At the end of the video, they revealed the correct number of passes (I believe it was fifteen) which I had a little less due to slight moment of inattention. And when lastly the video asked "But did you notice the gorrilla?", I thought proudly "Yes I did".

The effect of this experiment might have been different if I hadn't seen its title. Mm, if I do try it out on someone else, I will not disclose that information for sure, because it changes the disposition of the participant and affects the outcome.

At the same time, this experiment and the way that I perceived it made me think about how our knowledge affects an effect. The reason I expected, had the presentiment, that a gorrilla would emerge in the scene was because of what we had talked about in class (how people did not notice things when they were preoccupied by some other task). I assumed this video would expect the participant to be fooled by a similar trick. Individuals really cannot go through exactly the same experience because our knowledge is different and prepares us in differeny ways.

Weekly Blog Post #5

Thursday, September 12th, 2013.

Attention, Interests and Memory

I was talking with friends earlier in the day. And some of them began talking about different movies. After a while, when I came home and thought about this conversation again, I realized that I did not remember many, if not any, of the movie titles they had been talking about. I had been present throughout the entire conversation, and I had listened and paid attention to everything they had said. But, for some reason, my mind did not deem it important to retain this portion of the conversation. This made me think about memory. I am able to retain many, many, many things, from important to irrelevant details. But it seemed that my mind memorized and remembered only the things that I wanted it to, or that it unconsciously classified as noteworthy or important. Our knowledge is always tinted by our interests. We wouldn't acknowledge ourselves in things that we do not like or think essential to remember. This also made me think about, again, how our knowledge cannot be free of bias. The things we say, the things we know, cannot be freed of our interests, as even the things our mind remember are selected.

BBT 5

"A man with only one theory is a lost man."

-Bertolt Brecht

Mr Brecht is claiming that close mindedness leads to a man's downfall. An individual has to be able to look at issues from various perspectives, to open up the mind to others' opinions. One belief is not enough, one perspective  cannot lead to success. One theory, one foundation for one's beliefs and knowledge, is not stable or strong enough. As soon as that foundation is shaken, the knowledge is destroyed and not valid anymore. And at that moment, the man has lost the whole of his knowledge, and he is lost. In that aspect, Brecht may have meant that a man should base his knowledge on more than one theory to obtain a stronger foundation, to have more stability to support his driving force. A man should not constrain to one window of knowledge, to one perspective. A man should be open to the world around him to have a more comprehensive view.

A Small Insight #2

On the Verge of a World War III

     As I was skimming through a news articles on Internet in my free time, my eyes were attracted to a particular article. "Brutality of Syrian Rebels Posing Dilemma in the West". Intrigued by the title, and my curiosity aroused by the picture beside (showing men kneeling and bent to the floor), I clicked on the link and read the article.

      You may have already read this article, and therefore know what I am talking about. In summary, around a year ago, Syrian rebels had captured a handful of military men and had mutilated them. A video had been released on the web showing the entire scene, the inhumanity and cruelty of the act, as the soldiers were stripped of their clothes to expose their bare backs to the bullets, as these helpless men were executed and dumped in an unmarked grave. The release of this video caused much outrage around the globe, and the US were forced to reconsider their decision of helping the rebels. 

       As outsiders, our observations are subject to shifts. Depending on the information that are disclosed to the public regarding the events, positions regarding the conflict shift. When the public reads an article claiming that the government committed acts violating human rights, it condemns the malevolent authorities and pities the defenseless people. On the other hand, when the public sees a video that reveals the violent uprisings of the rebels, it decries the people it had pitied. This is the scenario that is reflected in the present situation of Syria. The big nations, such as the US, are uncertain of the positions they have to adopt, and the protests and reactions of the people, the public, do not help taking decisions easier. As outsiders, we do not have much right to say anything. We do not understand the depths of the conflict, of the issues. We do not grasp completely the passion of these people, the rigor of their anger. As outsiders, we do not have the right to decide, or enforce, what is best to do in this conflict, in this fight, in this rebellion. And the fundamental reason is because our knowledge of the situation depends on the information that is available to us.

       We may be on the verge of World War III. (Alright, actually, I do not think it will really happen, if we did learn from history and know a little better than we did before.) It is important that world leaders keep in mind that what they know comes to them through various filters, that their knowledge is controlled by so many factors, that it is difficult to determine what is right and what is wrong, what is accurate and what is fraud. With the media nowadays, it is easy to get swept in mob mentality. With technology nowadays, we are at the mercy of creative genius. With the big organizations such as the UN, influential and powerful countries often take matter in their hands and decide things based on what they think is right. 

       Throughout history, events have been shaped by the decisions of the big player countries. In this case, this distribution of roles is apparent once more. Big countries are in the dilemma of helping rebels in Syria or not, of putting in their impact or not. And people are forgetting that they are at the mercy of mob mentality, of the media, of shifting positions based on what they are able to hear and see.

I thought I might share these thoughts because our TOK classes revolve around these topics. We talked about how our knowledge is influenced by biases, and how it is impossible to acquire purely neutral stories without any tint of bias. The situation in Syria, and other nations' reactions to the occurrences, reflect these ideas.

Weekly Blog Post #4

Saturday, September 7th, 2013.

Peace In

We had been discussing how our knowledge affects our view of the world, and I would like to share a story with you on one particular case that I find very admirable.

Last year, when I had gone to the Global Initiatives Conference 2012 in Sao Paolo, Brasil, I have met a woman named Linda Ragsdale. A couple of years ago, she had been the victim of a terrorist attack, when she had gone to a trip in India to take meditation classes. One night, as she was having dinner with people she had befriended, two college boys came to the hotel and began shooting at the people there. Mrs Ragsdale could not do much. She was powerless. She was shot in the leg. She witnessed the shooting. She watched her friends die. She heard their last breaths. After all she went through, she was one of the lucky survivors. 

Mrs Ragsdale could have become the most angry and cynical person. However, despite her terrifying experience, Mrs Ragsdale has become the most loving and accepting individual I have yet met. She says that as she looked into one of the young man's eyes she had seen his despair and had forgiven him. She said that she understood that they saw the world in completely opposite perspectives, she under a loving and affectionate light, he under a gloomy hopeless future. She said that she had to reach out to him and grant him her forgiveness in the hope that it will save him, brighten his world a little. I remember her words at GIN. She had said something along the lines of "Now, put on your peace glasses, and look at the world under a different perspective, a perspective devoid of strong feelings that break the balance and your inner peace".

It is difficult to adopt such an optimistic, accepting, forgiving demeanor. It is difficult to place ourselves in under people's positions, especially when we are standing in opposite perspectives, when we are in the middle of a conflict. Nonetheless, this is what we have to aim for to find peace. Despite the diversity of the world, the variety of opinions, there is a universal mentality in the world. Ultimately, all individuals aspire for peace. Peace is internal, the absence of tension. In order to attain this state, we must recognize our similarities and embrace our diversity. We must understand that, regardless of differences, we strive for the same goals of peace. Even though we might be living with conflicting perspectives, we have to attempt to cross the boundaries that separate us. I know this sounds like a very simplistic view of the world. But this is a very simplified version of my ideas, but it would take forever to write everything down to make myself clearer and more comprehensive. At the end, I believe that peace is felt in the mind. And I admire Mrs Ragsdale for being able to overcome all the obstacles, and being able to look aside all the negatives to take out the positives. I admire Mrs Ragsdale for being able to adopt the different perspective that helped her in establishing peace in herself, and striving to spread her message to the world.

BBT Week 4

How big is Africa?

Well, the following part is sort of ruined for me, since I already know where we are heading. But I'll pretend I don't know what is going to happen and proceed with answering the prompt of this BBT.

To begin, I want to say that I don't know any actual accurate measurements. And as my World History teacher, you already know my limited knowledge in geography. Therefore, my interpretation of the size of Africa depends on the maps that I see. This puts me at the mercy of distortions and illusory tricks. Usually, cartographers stretch different countries/continents to fit different standards and perspectives. At the end of the day, I guess I just don't know how big Africa is. I have measurements,statistics, but those huge numbers have no meaning for me. The things I know for sure are that Africa is too big for me to visualize with my naked eye, the way I am right now. I also know that Africa is smaller than Asia and bigger than Europe. But I cannot make observations that are more precise, and I have to base myself in general observations.
So going back to the question "How big is Africa?". I think that I can provide general descriptions but nothing deeper. Africa is bigger than Europe and smaller than Asia. I do not know accurate measurements, and even if I did, that information will just be a bunch of digits for me, that I cannot really visualize or grasp completely.

A Small Insight #1

".... therefore I exist."

       Although I have already posted my weekly blog post for this week, I have just finished my analysis of a poem for my English class that perfectly fits the topics we discussed this Friday, while you were gone. We had talked about the saying "I am perceived therefore I exist", comparing this belief with Descartes "I think therefore I exist". The latter claims that one exists when he has the ability to think. However, the prior presents the position that one needs the acknowledgement of the people around him in order to truly confirm one's existence. This belief is explored in the poem "The Unknown Citizen" written by W.H. Auden. 

Much disillusionment spreads following World War II. Many individuals are outraged by the government’s lack of concern for those who suffered. The people cannot return to their normal lives, as if the war has not taken place, as the government expects. People are affected by the detached manner they are treated by the government, as they are not recognized for their efforts nor compensated individually. These feelings are reflected in the poem “The Unknown Citizen” by W.H. Auden. The poet captures the disillusionment of the people as he describes the life of an average individual, the story of all average individuals according to the government. The poet uses satire to convey his outrage and cynicism, as he tries to bring about a change in the government’s attitude toward the people.

Throughout the poem, Auden keeps emphasizing that the life of this individual was ideal and pleased authorities. According to the “Bureau of Statistics”, “Public Opinion” and other governmental organizations, this man has done no wrong, pays his taxes, and lives a gregarious life. By noting that the man “served the Greater Community”, the poet suggests the man lived his life to please society, not necessarily for his sake. The poet implies that every individual’s life was led according to government norms as he claims that this man had “the right number [of children] for a parent of his generation”. Even the man’s family seems to be planned out by the calculating government, the government that is solely concerned with setting a society that appears to be ideal. Auden criticizes the government’s materialistic concerns as he focuses on the material necessities of the citizen. He does not delve into specifics, does not reveal the personality or aspects that are unique to the individual. Employing a mock-matter-of-factly tone, the poet emphasizes the fact that the government does not consider its citizens separately, solely looking at the general idea presented by statistics and governmental studies.

Auden points out that the citizens are not care for by the government, that they are anonymous, and that they will not be remembered. Auden describes the life of the “unknown citizen” using the pronoun “he”, emphasizing the impersonal attitude with which the citizen is addressed. The reader never feels as if he clearly understood or met the citizen, as he is always referred to as a “he”. Furthermore, this drives home the idea that this story, this state, of anonymity can be applied to any individual, including the reader himself. It has the effect of appalling the reader, forcing him to ask himself whether he wants to remain in the life of an unremembered citizen. It initiates the reader in bringing about a change in the government’s attitude, as the poet desires.

Auden outlines his poem in a manner that presents all the “positive” aspects of the citizen’s life. The reader is subtly led to question the pleasantness of this life, not finding this life enviable. The last two lines of the poem reveal the motivation of the poet, as he asks the reader to question the desirability of the life of this citizen. The reader is left wondering what the meaning of his life is to others, feeling appalled by the possibility that his existence is not acknowledged. The poet’s sarcasm is apparent in the last line, as Auden writes that “had anything been wrong [with the citizen’s life], we should certainly have heard”. The reader realizes that his individual opinion will not be heard or considered, because he is inexistent in the eyes of the government.

“The Unknown Citizen” is a powerful poem that conveys the disillusionment among the people after World War II as they realize their voices were not heard. The government does not care much about their suffering. No one thinks about the people as individuals. Each individual leads his life and silently, anonymously leaves the world upon his death. The reader is left pondering whether he will be taken care of, whether he actually exists in others’ eyes.

       What do you think? What is your position in this context? Though Auden presents a compact position, and that I concede to some of his claims, I am inclined to agree with Descartes. Of course, it is pleasant to have others acknowledge my presence. Of course, another's recognition of me confirms that I exist, that I am perceived, that I am taken into consideration. However, I have my willpower. I have my choices, my decisions, my actions. I have confidence in myself, and I am able to hold up to who I am without others. This was also the message of the book "Man's Search for Meaning" by Frankl. A man can be robbed of everything except his power to choose. Ultimately, each one of us will have our choices and our decisions. This fact confirms that I exist, even though it may not be apparent from others' actions to me.