Filling in the ______s

 

Read this funny article and think about the following questions:

What is the connection between the article and the famous figures from Gestalt psychology (above)?
What other Way of Knowing is this related to?
What is the difference between what is being said and what is being understood?
Can you think of situations where this could result in miscommunication?
What Areas of Knowledge would be most affected by this concept?

The Science of Beauty

(http://studio-grd.com/golden-ratio/)

How subjective is beauty? We often think that it's all according to 'taste' and completely dependent on the individual, but scientists, biologists, and mathematicians have long been fascinated by certain ratios and proportions of things that are considered 'beautiful'. You may have heard of the Fibonacci Number (from The Da Vinci Code), and you can read more about it here.

Do you think beauty can be scientifically calculated? Respond as a comment.

Also, here's the link for today's documentary:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ou2USR1MBrk&feature=relmfu

Seeing is Believing?

(taken from: http://i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/080/267/if-seeing-is-believing-can-blind-people-believe.jpg)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oe3St1GgoHQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vblhBmHKW5s

What do the previous movies tell us about our senses? About our ability to 'decide not to believe'? (This is something called 'Suspension of Disbelief')

Put the AoKs in order (most use of Perception to least)

Respond as a comment to the following:

1) Do we use sense perception in different ways in our different areas of knowledge? How does it function in the Arts when compared to the Sciences?

2) To what extent does the artist make an advantage out of the subjective nature of sense perception, while the scientist regards it as an obstacle to be overcome? (Use specific examples.)

The Matrix and the Cave

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zRNMZEDOBrM

Activity 1 (make a blog post)

1. Would you want to be released from the Matrix? Why or why not?


2. Can you think of any institutions or concepts in our world that are like the Matrix?


3. How is the way you understand the world, your ideas and beliefs, shaped by the actions of others?


4. Who has the power to shape your ideas and beliefs? In what ways is this good and in what ways is it not so good?

Extension: Read Plato's Allegory of the Cave to get an idea of where the filmmakers got the idea for the movie.

Activity 2 (respond as a comment)

Let's pretend there is a machine that would let you experience absolutely ANYTHING that you wanted. If you've seen Total Recall, it's something like that (or the Holodeck on Star Trek). Be a rockstar, write a novel, become an astronaut, fall in love, invent cold fusion -- you could experience ANYTHING you wanted, just by programming the machine. You wouldn't be 'actually' experiencing these things; you'd be floating in some tank of water, being fed vitamins and nutrients through a tube. The illusion would be so perfect that you wouldn't know that it's an illusion.

1. Do we care about certain things independent of the experiences they create for us? For example, is being in reality important even if the experience isn’t pleasant?


2. Is it better to live happily in the Matrix than miserably in reality? Why or why not?


3. How do we know that we are not in an experience machine? Can we prove we are not? How do we know that what we perceive is real?

Time to think about Time

 

Okay, this is not exactly ITGS-related, but I thought you'd be interested in this article. Have a read:

 

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/cosmicvariance/2011/09/01/ten-things-everyone-should-know-about-time/

 

Also, take a look at this link for an interesting article on Robot Prison Guards!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-15893772