How has the course IB Theory of Knowledge 1 impacted you as a learner and in the real world?

For the most part I do not feel that TOK1 has had an impact on me in other IB classes and I rarely think about it in the real world. Sometimes out of school I notice the different ways of knowing and how they are affecting people, especially sense perception, memory, and emotion. I often consider how reliable other peoples memories. Also I notice on a daily basis how much people understand certain concepts and consider how reliable their knowledge is and where it has come from. Because of this class I do look more into other people's knowledge and the sources of their knowledge, but I generally don't see the connections in my other IB classes. 

Give yourself self-ratings [A, B, C] on each: attendance, attention, participation, prepared 

Attendance:B

Attention: A
Participation: B

Prepared: A

Imagination with one of your IB HL Classes

1. Pick one of your IB higher level subjects and one non-academic activity that you do.  In what ways do you use imagination to gain, evaluate, understand, apply or enjoy knowledge in each of these two cases?  Without imagination, would your knowledge be diminished?  

One of my higher level classes which I gain a lot from by using imagination is HL math. In math we do and talk about a lot of complex concepts that we need to use are imaginations to understand. For one, when doing complex numbers and graphing complex numbers we need to consider that it is possible to graph the numbers, even though technically you cannot because they are not real numbers, in order to get a better understand of it. Also when using our imagination it helps us remember certain things. For example, when learning about related rates in calculus we made up problems about gnomes in order to make it more interesting and fun, which made us understand the concept better. Also, we need to imagine that we can do the problems and that we understand the math so that we don't get frustrated and give up. Without using our imagination and creativity in math things would just be boring and dull and we would not be able to learn as much. 

  A non-academic activity that I do is cheer leading. In cheer we need to use a lot of imagination. We need to imagine the moves, dances, and stunts in order to create something new that has not been done before. Every one on the team imagines different things that we can do and how it would improve our routines. Without the use of imagination in cheer, it would be boring and we would not have as much fun as we do. 

Reflection on "Turning powerful stats into art"

1. Write a definition of "art".
Art is either something that someone is proud of when they make it and it does not necessarily have a deeper meaning to it, but just something that the creator of it put work into it and is proud of it. Another definition of art, is something that moves you and has a deeper mean or appeals to your emotions and triggers thought when you see it.

2. How does the photographer, Chris Jordan, 'tap' the power of imagination for a purpose other than creating a work of art?
The photographer helps the audience understand the culture that we in live and understand statistics more though his art work. The photographer uses this power of imagination to help the audience know what is surrounding us in a way in which we understand, which is the meaning for his artwork. The artwork makes the audience think about the American society as a whole and makes the audience realize that every single person has an impact on the American society as a whole. The photographer is not trying to criticize the American society, but trying to make us aware so that the people know that if they do not like what they are seeing they can change it.

3. Without Chris Jordan's imaginative use of art to portray the examples discussed in talk, would your knowledge of the social phenomena discussed be diminished?
My knowledge of the social phenomena discussed would not be as thorough without the use of his art, and the statistics that he used in his artwork would not make me feel any particular way toward it, if it wasn't for the art work. Chris Jordan touched upon the idea that the human brain cannot comprehend the concept of such large numbers, but visually we can understand it a lot better. The knowledge that I learned from the statistics, I would have easily forgotten, but since Chris Jordan used artwork to portray the examples discussed, I will remember them. Chris Jordan used the idea that visuals help people learn and remember things, and that visuals bring up emotions, to convey the message of the social phenomena around us.

4. Name one other "social phenomenon" that would fit in well with the sorts of examples depicted by Chris Jordan, and describe a possible "work of art" of your own that you believe would use imagination as a means toward further understanding. If you fall short of another example, you may choose one of Jordan's examples, and propose your own 'work of art' idea.
Another social phenomenon in the American society is the amount of meat that our society eats on a daily basis. I do not know exactly how many, but I do know that millions of chickens are killed and consumed each day. A way to depict this image is to show a few chickens, like Christ Jordan started doing, then to zoom out to see how many chickens there are that are killed each day. This would be a lot like Chris Jordan's artwork that showed how many teens start smoking each year, with each cigarette representing one person.  Depending on your point of view, this may not be a bad thing, but it would really show to the viewer how much food we consume each day, and make the audience wonder if it is necessary that in our modern society if it is necessary that so many lives have to be killed each day.

Sense Perception and Rapid Cognition

1. How did you react to your results?  Were you surprised?  Angry or hurt? Pleased?  Discuss what you felt and why you think you felt what you did.

I was greatly surprised when I got my results because it was not what I was expecting at all and I got very frustrated with the test and the results. I was not pleased with my results because it was not what I expected or wanted to see at all. The first test was more understandable but my second one was way off. 

Do you believe that your test results say something about you that you should pay attention to?  Why or why not?

I do not think it does. Because I feel like I know myself better than what a test says. Also I feel like a got false answers because once I would get one answer wrong I would get flustered and kept messing up.For the race IAT it seemed to be more accurate and is definitely something I have partly noticed in the past but is definitely something I know I should pay more attention to and I will start to; but even though it was more true it was not completely true. 

Do you think that these tests are valid?  When you first saw your results, did you question or accept the tests' validity?

I greatly questioned the validity of this test after taking it because I strongly disagreed with my second test. i especially questioned the validity of the test because it was judging you on so little. 

Give examples of the cultural messages that many support attitudes linking a dominant group in your nation or culture with "good" or "superior" attributes and a subordinate group with "bad" or "inferior" ones. Are these attitudes generalizations that can be called stereotypes?  How can generalizations be distinguished from stereotypes?

Depending on who I am with the cultural message is different. My family is very Irish and they hold a lot of pride in that, and part of my family is very Italian and they hold pride in that. In my family some have a strong preverence to their own nationality only because they have pride in it, but it does not necessarily mean that they do not like other nationalities. 

If some of our consciously held beliefs, attitudes, and values are undermined by what Gladwell calls rapid cognition (others call this intuitive thinking or even gut feelings), what do you suggest we can do to combat jumping to (false) conclusions?

It is really hard to jump to false conclusions. The best way is to be aware of the past of when you have jumped to false conclusions and remember to be conscious of that time so you do not do it again. Another way to do this is when you feel that you are coming to a quick conclusion of something, just take a step back on the situation and look at the facts to see if you are actually jumping to a false conclusion. 

Contrast two examples, one in which we rely on rapid cognition for accuracy of knowledge, and another in which rapid cognition can lead to knowledge errors.

One example of when rapid cognition helps the accuracy of knowledge is when you are in danger. If one is in danger they need to make a lot of quick decisions about the situation they are in, and chose whether or not to leave the situation. Even if one makes a knowledge error in this situation it is better to make a knowledge error and leave a possible dangerous situation than to stick around and possible get hurt. At the same time a rapid cognition can lead to a bad knowledge error, like the boy Mickey. Obviously Mickey is just an eight year old boy and is not a terrorist. At this point a rapid cognition can lead to knowledge error because they assumed that because he has a name of a terrorist he is a terrorist, which is completely wrong.

Sense-Perception: Real Life Examples

Examine how knowledge gained by sense perception helps individual(s) be "successful" in each real-life situation
1. One of your IB subjects

In HL biology ones sense are extremely important in being successful. In biology we do a lot of labs and when doing labs what you see is extremely important because your observations are your results for the lab. Sense are also very important for safety in a lab. If someone smells a chemical or fire that means there might be something going wrong with the lab, which can be dangerous depending on the lab that one does. 

2. Winter Olympic Sports- Figure Skating

Senses are extremely important for figure skating. The sense of touching is important for partner figure skating because it is important to feel your partner to know that they are holding you in the right position. Another important sense is balance, because balance is key for figure skating because without balance one will fall and hurt themselves and not be able to preform correctly. Finally an important sense is the sense of time because the figure skaters need to know that they are on the right time with their music. 

3. Area of knowledge

Sense perception is very important in the arts. When drawing or painting a lot of the time people with draw what they see, and some people may perceive what they see differently than other people.  Also when a final piece of art is complete, everyone will see the art piece differently and everyone will notice different parts off it.

Symbols & Knowledge

http://www.symbols.com/symbol/144

1. The cultural origins of this symbol is from ancient Greece, where Earth is one of the four classic elements according to the Greek philosophers and scientists.
2. The knowledge portrayed is that Earth is supposed to be the heaviest of the four elements, therefore any Earth-laden substances would fall fast straight down  to the center of the cosmos. Earth is associated with sensual aspects of both life and death in later occultism.
3. This symbol can be emotive because Earth is seen to be strong and powerful, along with sensual. This symbol can also be vague because the meaning behind it would not be widely known in modern culture.
4. Some problems of knowledge with this symbol is it is very simple, therefore it is hard to derive the idea of Earth from it. Also since it is an ancient symbol, the modern culture may not know the background of this symbol and therefore not understand the meaning behind it. Also there are many other symbols for Earth so people may not know there are many symbols for Earth or they do not know all of them.
5. 
http://jaredleto-best-idol.blogspot.com/2011/08/triad-o-que-significa.html
This is a symbol that symbolizes air. This is related to Earth, because it is one of the other elements but it could easily be confused with the symbol for Earth if one does not know the symbols well. This is also as a symbol widely used by a well known bands called 30 Seconds to Mars, and they chose this symbol because it means air; but people know it more as a symbol for the band than for air.

The 16th Man Reflection- Knowledge Question

How are symbols used in the construction of knowledge?
Symbols are a huge part in constructing our knowledge and is present in the movie "The 16th Man." One big symbol in the movie was the Springbok emblem. Before Nelson Mandela, the Springbok emblem was a symbol for keeping the races separate from each other and was for an all white team. No black person would support the team because it was a symbol for the white superiority in South Africa. Mandela was able to change that when he became President. For one a black person was finally on the team and Mandela would wear a Springbok without any hesitations. Mandela knew the Springbok emblem was a big part of the culture of South Africa so he used it to help get rid of the inequity between the races in South Africa. Mandela used this to break down the racial barrier, when Mandela went out to meet the Springbok team and put on a Springbok hat without any hesitation it showed to the team and to the country, that the black people should not be bitter against the Springbok team for being an all white team and to break down the racial barrier. The way in which Mandela accepted the Springbok emblem put out a message to the people, and made them start to realize and learn that there should no longer be a barrier between the races and to put aside all of the bitter feelings that everyone once had against each other.
Mandela also used the rugby team to help people gain knowledge on how to come together without conflict between races. Everyone love sports, especially youth, and sports are something that everyone can understand, and it usually a time when people come together. Mandela used this as a way to break down the racial barrier and bring equality into South Africa. The sport and the team symbolizes the country and the people. With a black person on the team, the team represented both races coming together for a common interest. The rugby teaming winning the world cup proved to the people that black and white people can come together and work together because there really isn't much difference between the two people besides the color of their skin. The symbol of the rugby team help bring knowledge to the people that black and white people can be together without any conflict, in a way that only sports can bring people together.