Stricken

by the power of David Hilbert's introduction in his Mathematical Problems speech.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson at the World Science Festival 2010

Some links

Here are some items I have bumped into recently:

Ways to look at data. How does it affect the way we read it? http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/

Some thoughts tied to emotion as a way of knowing: http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/11/14/this-is-your-brain-on-metaphors/

When we get to the point of needing computers to explain to us what the other computers are doing, will our understanding be knowledge- or faith-based? Or will it be something else? http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2010/11/09/science/20111109_next_feature.html

Morality Test

A fun online quiz.

But in taking it, I really felt like most of the questions were of an ethical nature. And in considering how we come to know ethical answers, it helps to have a starting point.

Here is the quiz. Let the games begin.

Time-Out

One of the main beauties of the TOK course, I think, is that it gives us training in taking time to pause and consider the suppositions posed as fact that bombard us in our media-rich culture. Every opinion seems to have very capable adherents ready to pass generally-acceptable talking points enriched with faulty logic off to the masses. Some who know me might think that in writing this I have a particular political persuasion in mind, but I don't really: I have shredded more than one magazine offer pandering to the side with which I regularly vote because the publications in question advertised with much too much pride that their contents offered counter-claims to foil any argumentative opponent. I am not interested in regurgitated talking points. I am, however, interested in really examining where our ideas fall in relation to justice, fairness, truth, and right.

So I was extremely pleased to find today on AskPhilosophers a wonderful description of what it takes to find rationality in a world full of arguments. Kudos to the questioner and to the respondent.

Wouldn't it be lovely if all of the talking heads took a day off and let us look for some answers in peace. Wouldn't it be a lovely thing to have a global day of TOK.

Scintillating Read

Ok, I know I have posted a lot of articles lately, but this one made my brain pop. Again, from the New York Times op-ed series, The Stone: on the nature of happiness, and the ways it may be similar to knowledge. (If we can agree on what knowledge is...)

AskPhilosophers: Must Art be Judged Morally?