http://humancipate.com/an-alive-mind/ Connect, Live Free . . . Be! Thu, 20 May 2010 13:02:36 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 http://humancipate.com/an-alive-mind/comment-page-1/#comment-251 Dan Wilson Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:04:27 +0000 http://humancipate.com/an-alive-mind/#comment-251 What a downer to be reminded of how much I hated school and the "no guidance" system of guidance counseling. On a side note I would argue that the primary challenge for aware parents today is to find a system of education that opens up their child's mind rather than shutting it down. With your last quote I am reminded of something I sometimes say in small groups when I am teaching. I compare two types of learning. One is like building a pyramid. It neatly stacks one fact on top of another, each new fact being intrinsically related to the previous fact and depending on it for the foundation to move on. I argue that this is important but not the only way we learn. A second type of learning involves intuitive leaps and connecting dots where there is "an awful lot of space" between the dots. One of the most famous people to be able to do this was Albert Einstein. But my point is not that one must be a genius. No, one just has to have an alive mind, to use the expression that you have coined. Being able to jump categories, see analogies or think metaphorically are skills that often dry up in the fill-in-the-blank, study-for-the-test approach that often passes for education. I believe it was Coleridge who discussed the difference between imagination and fancy. Fancy simple keeps rearranging the things we already know. Imagination actually creates something new. Einstein recognized this and even praised imagination as being the most important element in learning. What a downer to be reminded of how much I hated school and the “no guidance” system of guidance counseling. On a side note I would argue that the primary challenge for aware parents today is to find a system of education that opens up their child’s mind rather than shutting it down. With your last quote I am reminded of something I sometimes say in small groups when I am teaching. I compare two types of learning. One is like building a pyramid. It neatly stacks one fact on top of another, each new fact being intrinsically related to the previous fact and depending on it for the foundation to move on. I argue that this is important but not the only way we learn. A second type of learning involves intuitive leaps and connecting dots where there is “an awful lot of space” between the dots. One of the most famous people to be able to do this was Albert Einstein. But my point is not that one must be a genius. No, one just has to have an alive mind, to use the expression that you have coined. Being able to jump categories, see analogies or think metaphorically are skills that often dry up in the fill-in-the-blank, study-for-the-test approach that often passes for education. I believe it was Coleridge who discussed the difference between imagination and fancy. Fancy simple keeps rearranging the things we already know. Imagination actually creates something new. Einstein recognized this and even praised imagination as being the most important element in learning.

]]> http://humancipate.com/an-alive-mind/comment-page-1/#comment-27 Geuka Tue, 16 Dec 2008 05:14:42 +0000 http://humancipate.com/an-alive-mind/#comment-27 Mattice, Thank you for your kind words! Mattice, Thank you for your kind words!

]]> http://humancipate.com/an-alive-mind/comment-page-1/#comment-25 Mattice Sun, 14 Dec 2008 22:21:29 +0000 http://humancipate.com/an-alive-mind/#comment-25 I really enjoyed reading your first blog post. I'm so proud to know you and happy you're living your passion. Keep it up! I really enjoyed reading your first blog post. I’m so proud to know you and happy you’re living your passion. Keep it up!

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