So, here I am. I've thoroughly read the blog prompt, five times in fact, and I finally feel as though I have an understanding of what I'm about to write.
First though, I find it necessary to look through some of my fellow classmates' posts in order to build up my confidence in what I'm about to say. Unfortunately, this part of the process sometimes backfires and I end up reading something so well written, and so unique, that I become upset with myself for not having thought of it first.
However, after a moment I realize that, as we have discussed in class, we must soak up the creativity of others in order to feed our own. Without looking through some of the other blog posts I probably would have written some lame response about how I sit down in creative writing class everyday and come up with a bizarre story, which I rarely ever end up completing anyway. While I kind of feel guilty doing it, reading other peoples' posts before I go to write my own helps me loosen up and let my voice come through when it does come time to start writing. Instead of writing some short, formal response to the blog prompt in hopes of getting a passing grade, I read what my classmates have come up with, and it actually sparks my interest enough to make me want to put some effort into it.
I must admit, every time I have sat down to write a blog I've thought to myself, "Okay now. What's the quickest and easiest way to get this done?" Surprisingly though, each time I find myself actually becoming interested. I end up stumbling upon all the thoughts in my head that I never knew even existed. I like the fact that each time I am able to surprise myself with the quality of my ideas.
I do, however, wish that for once I could not be such a procrastinator and remind myself that these blog posts aren't so bad after all. That way I might actually start them earlier and get myself some sleep instead of cutting my posts short due to a lack of mental energy.
Monday, September 27, 2010
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Best of Week: True Understanding
The idea I have found to be most important this week from class is the idea of proving your understanding through communication. This idea has been pointed out to me at different times during my life, and each time it reminds me to learn to truly understand, not just to be able to repeat or regurgitate for a test.
This concept of true understanding makes me take a look at the things in life that I think I know, and question myself as to how well I know those things. I have found myself looking back on different concepts that I learned in the past, and testing myself and my memory by trying to reexplain those concepts to myself in my own head. For example, today in class we talked about Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. I remember enjoying this book more than any other book I have ever read in school, and so during class I found myself looking back on the messages from that book and trying to articulate them to myself. What I found brings me to my next point.
I realized that I had not forgotten the key ideas behind O'Brien's book, and I am also sure that this is because how interested I was in the book. Like in Alda's essay about Feynman, Feynman only worked on what he found to be interesting, and because of this he was always able to communicate the different scientific concepts that he studied. I recognize now that when I am truly passionate about something, I tend to make the effort to understand it better, and therefore, it has a bigger impact on my life. Knowing this leads me to believe that if I pushed myself to find something interesting in each of my school subjects, I may just be able to become passionate enough about them that I absorb more of an understanding about them. This will not only improve my grades, but also enhance my true understanding of a broad range of topics, widen my horizons, and maybe even change my perspective on the world.
This concept of true understanding makes me take a look at the things in life that I think I know, and question myself as to how well I know those things. I have found myself looking back on different concepts that I learned in the past, and testing myself and my memory by trying to reexplain those concepts to myself in my own head. For example, today in class we talked about Tim O'Brien's The Things They Carried. I remember enjoying this book more than any other book I have ever read in school, and so during class I found myself looking back on the messages from that book and trying to articulate them to myself. What I found brings me to my next point.
I realized that I had not forgotten the key ideas behind O'Brien's book, and I am also sure that this is because how interested I was in the book. Like in Alda's essay about Feynman, Feynman only worked on what he found to be interesting, and because of this he was always able to communicate the different scientific concepts that he studied. I recognize now that when I am truly passionate about something, I tend to make the effort to understand it better, and therefore, it has a bigger impact on my life. Knowing this leads me to believe that if I pushed myself to find something interesting in each of my school subjects, I may just be able to become passionate enough about them that I absorb more of an understanding about them. This will not only improve my grades, but also enhance my true understanding of a broad range of topics, widen my horizons, and maybe even change my perspective on the world.
Connection: Alda Essay and My Grandfather
In Alan Alda’s essay, Pass the Plate, Mr. Feynam, Alda explains how he admires Feynman for not only being curious and finding something in the world that he truly loved, but also for loving that something so much that he felt it absolutely necessary to share it with others in a way that they could understand it. Feynman’s heart belonged to science. His intrigue led him to make many discoveries, but his love for the subject gave him the need to share it with the rest of the world. In Alda’s essay he explains that, “When [Feynman] was talking to ordinary people with no training in physics, he never fell back on his authority as a great thinker. He felt that if he couldn’t say it in everyday words, he probably didn’t understand it himself”. What Alda means is that even though Feynam had great intelligence, he was amazing because he took the time to help others understand scientific concepts by talking to them in the manner that they were accustomed to.
In so many ways Feynman reminds me of my grandfather, but in one way, they are very different. My grandpa was a nuclear physicist at Argonne National Laboratory, and he was the director of the high energy physics department there for twenty five years, in which time he developed their accelerator. He is an unbelievably intelligent man, and he himself was always quite interested in Feynam, yet I have noticed over the years that he has always lacked the ability to explain concepts to those who are not trained in the field of physics.
While my mom and her five sisters were growing up, he devoted all of his time to his work; his work was truly the love of his life. Even now, after he retired, it is obvious that he hasn’t given up his interest in science; he clearly never will. Sadly, he does not have the same talent for communicating his scientific knowledge that Feynman did; however, his understanding of it is unmistakable.
I remember one year when I found myself sitting with my grandpa near the Christmas tree, desperately trying to understand the scientific ideas he was attempting to articulate. I remember afterwards how my aunt came up to me and said, “So I saw that grandpa caught ya earlier for one of his science lectures. Poor girl.” She said it jokingly, but it made me sad because I had realized that my grandfather had a hard time explaining science to those who were not familiar with it, and that people simply gave up trying to understand him. In fact, they avoided getting into the subject with him altogether. If someone could simply hear and understand one bit of the information that fascinated him so much, it very likely would have kept them listening.
It wasn’t until pretty recently, last year in fact, that I finally reaped the benefits of my grandpa’s immense knowledge. I had found myself in a tough spot in school in the one class that, out of anybody, he would understand the most, physics. My parents pushed me to go to him for help, and when I finally did he told me something. He said to me that he knew he what he was talking about when it came to physics, but that he also knew that he wasn’t a very good teacher. I agreed to be patient, and so it began; he taught himself to teach, and I taught myself to listen.
The first thing he did was take my extra physics textbook home with him to read. When we met up again he had read nearly the entire book, and told me that he had a better understanding of how the school was teaching me the subject. We then sat down at my computer in front of my physics webassign. It was right before the final exam and I knew if I wanted to get a good grade in the class I would have to do very well on the final. Together we went through problem after problem. He would never simply give me the answer; instead he would help me figure out which formula to use and how to use it. I found it hilarious that we came across a couple problems that even my nuclear physicist grandfather couldn’t solve.
Before the experience, I had thought that trying to learn from my grandpa would be an agonizing failure, but after it was all over I had gained much more than I could have ever expected. Not only did I actually know how to solve physics problems, but I understood how and why everything worked the way it did. Because we were both patient, we were both able to learn from the experience. Not only that, but It also strengthened my relationship with grandpa.
The best feeling in the end though, was how undoubtedly happy it had made him to have helped me become more interested in science. It had given him a chance to put his knowledge to use again, and like Feynman, allowed him to give the priceless gift of understanding.
In so many ways Feynman reminds me of my grandfather, but in one way, they are very different. My grandpa was a nuclear physicist at Argonne National Laboratory, and he was the director of the high energy physics department there for twenty five years, in which time he developed their accelerator. He is an unbelievably intelligent man, and he himself was always quite interested in Feynam, yet I have noticed over the years that he has always lacked the ability to explain concepts to those who are not trained in the field of physics.
While my mom and her five sisters were growing up, he devoted all of his time to his work; his work was truly the love of his life. Even now, after he retired, it is obvious that he hasn’t given up his interest in science; he clearly never will. Sadly, he does not have the same talent for communicating his scientific knowledge that Feynman did; however, his understanding of it is unmistakable.
I remember one year when I found myself sitting with my grandpa near the Christmas tree, desperately trying to understand the scientific ideas he was attempting to articulate. I remember afterwards how my aunt came up to me and said, “So I saw that grandpa caught ya earlier for one of his science lectures. Poor girl.” She said it jokingly, but it made me sad because I had realized that my grandfather had a hard time explaining science to those who were not familiar with it, and that people simply gave up trying to understand him. In fact, they avoided getting into the subject with him altogether. If someone could simply hear and understand one bit of the information that fascinated him so much, it very likely would have kept them listening.
It wasn’t until pretty recently, last year in fact, that I finally reaped the benefits of my grandpa’s immense knowledge. I had found myself in a tough spot in school in the one class that, out of anybody, he would understand the most, physics. My parents pushed me to go to him for help, and when I finally did he told me something. He said to me that he knew he what he was talking about when it came to physics, but that he also knew that he wasn’t a very good teacher. I agreed to be patient, and so it began; he taught himself to teach, and I taught myself to listen.
The first thing he did was take my extra physics textbook home with him to read. When we met up again he had read nearly the entire book, and told me that he had a better understanding of how the school was teaching me the subject. We then sat down at my computer in front of my physics webassign. It was right before the final exam and I knew if I wanted to get a good grade in the class I would have to do very well on the final. Together we went through problem after problem. He would never simply give me the answer; instead he would help me figure out which formula to use and how to use it. I found it hilarious that we came across a couple problems that even my nuclear physicist grandfather couldn’t solve.
Before the experience, I had thought that trying to learn from my grandpa would be an agonizing failure, but after it was all over I had gained much more than I could have ever expected. Not only did I actually know how to solve physics problems, but I understood how and why everything worked the way it did. Because we were both patient, we were both able to learn from the experience. Not only that, but It also strengthened my relationship with grandpa.
The best feeling in the end though, was how undoubtedly happy it had made him to have helped me become more interested in science. It had given him a chance to put his knowledge to use again, and like Feynman, allowed him to give the priceless gift of understanding.
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