The Starting Point.
The unexamined life is not worth living - Socrates
Know Thyself - Oracle at Delphi
Something to think about
Would you rather know the truth; how things really are without a doubt.
What influences Identity?
culture - the era in which you live, the place you live (geography)
-genetics - inherited dispositions
-school
-religion
-family
-friends
-life experiences
-tradition
-media
Birth Order(rd Born to Rebel by Frank Sulloway)
Oldest:responsible, aggressive, leader
Only Child :mature, relates to adults, leader
Middle:diplomat, sociable, tender-hearted
Youngest:creative, innovative, initiates change
Effect on media on attention span:
What many people today perceive to be dullness in teachers, textbook authors, and work assignments may actually be their own deficiency.
Television viewing (and other modern entertainments) may have prevented them from developing a mature attention span.
Advertising :A Short History
19th century: common-sense strategy
1950's: consumer research based on statistical analysis, market research
Motivational Research: looked for the hidden whys of consumer behaviour
Dr. Ernest Dichter: ?Sex Sells?
60?s and 70?s: VALS (combined study of social values and buying habits) ? value and lifestyle
What is Critical Thinking?
?thinking? ? a mental activity over which we exercise some control
1.Testing the accuracy of statements
2.Evaluating the soundness of reasoning
3.Challenging ideas by asking questions
Critical Thinking is NOT?
-arguing
-being original
-having the ?right answer?
-giving reasons
-something you are either ?born with? or not
Mind or Brain?
-last 20 years: ?we know 1% of what there is to know about the brain? (T. Buzan)
-2 upper brains, not one
-Sperry and Ornstein: brain linked by complex network of nerve fibres called the ?Corpus Collosum?
Left CortexRight Cortex
-words-rhythm
-logic-spatial awareness
-numbers-Gestalt (whole picture)
-sequence-imagination
-linearity-day-dreaming
-analysis-colour
-lists-dimension
Complementarity
-Prof. Eran Zaidel (U of California): complimentarity of cortices
-Subsequent research showed...