“The 16th Man” – Sport as an Area of Knowledge

Review Mandela’s quote on the power of sport
Choose one of your CAS activities of the year (Creativity, Action, Service)
Examine your CAS involvement from a TOK perspective, relating to the Mandela quote
OPTIONAL EXTRA reflection
Compare the pre- and post-apartheid South African country flags
Analyse the evolution of the SA flag from a TOK perspective

1. Knowledge Issue Question: Justice Bekebeke

To what extent does national pride depend on the inhabitants feeling equal to each other?

2. Mandela's quote - CAS involvement in relation

Sport has the power to change the world. It has the power to inspire, it has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope, where once there was only despair. It is more powerful than governments in breaking down racial barriers. It laughs in the face of all types of discrimination. 

Sturgis Soccer: I think sport absolutely has the power to change the world. Sport is universally the same, soccer is played the same way in hundreds of countries even though the name of the game and the nationality of the people playing does change. Children from different backgrounds can understand the game and it can bring them much closer together. Sports can give people hope because soccer in particular is a team sport. You have to rely on your teammates no matter who they are, you can't play along. It doesn't matter what race any of the players are, all that counts in the end is how they work together and how well they can play. There isn't one race who is "better" at sport, everyone has an equal advantage. 

In Sturgis soccer we all have to work together. We all know and speak the sport and everyone is different and unique. We all have different interests outside of the sport and we're not all close friends but through the season we work as one unit. When we play another team we can't judge by what they look like. The smallest player could be the best on the team so stereotyping gets you no where.

3. Compare pre and post apartheid South African flags

The flag of South Africa pre apartheid was three flags ( Union Flag (mirrored) towards the hoist, the flag of the Orange Free State (mirrored) hanging vertically in the middle and theTransvaal Vierkleur towards the fly) on a background of blue, white and orange. This old flag makes South Africa seem like it is made up of 3 separate nations that were just clumped together. There isn't a sense of unity between them. The flag reflects the way the country was pre apartheid; segregated and unequal

The post apartheid flag is a Y shape with blue, red, orange, white, black and green. This flag combines the nation into one unit. It doesn't make the nation seem like it is made up of separate parts. It represents how the country is now working together and treating each other as equals. It combines the ideas and colors of the white and black South Africans. 

 

Decision-making: emotion v reason

Question on npr piece, "The Teen Brain: It's Just Not Grown Up Yet": How do teen brains work differently, ie, what is the role of myelin in the frontal lobe and decision-making?

The teenage brain is not the same as an adult brain because the frontal lobe is not fully connected. The frontal lobe helps a teen evaluate the consequences of decisions, but in the teenage brain the nerve cells are not fully connected to the rest of the brain nor do they work as well as they do in adult brains.  They are also missing myelin, which is a fatty substance that covers the nerves, and helps the signals flow more effectively. 

Question on Frontline segment, "You Just Don't Understand": What is the role of the cerebellum in decision-making?

The cerebellum does not fully develop in the brain until at least the early 20s. The cerebellum grows the most during the adolescent years and is involved in the coordination of our thinking process. It also helps the brain navigate through social and intellectual situations gracefully throughout the teenage years. 

Question on NYTimes article, "The Moral Life of Babies": What is the role of socialization in the moral development of children? What are the implications of socialization on the possibility of a universal moral code?

Socialization is critical to the development of children. Although it seems like babies have at least a basic sense of right and wrong, and at least some moral though, from a very early age, socialization plays a major role. Socialization helps adjust the natural right and wrong that children seem to have because the "sense of right and wrong that they naturally possess diverges in important ways from what we adults would want it to be."

When making a decision and taking action, how do you know the benefits outweigh the costs? And, to what extent does it matter? Support with concrete examples.

I think some decisions are easy to weigh to the benefits and costs, and to make the "best" decision easily, the one with more benefits. For example whether to stay up until 2 in the morning on the computer not doing homework, or to go to bed at 10, if you have a test the next day. If you're doing nothing until 2 that's important, going to bed at 10 has way more benefits. Other decisions have more blurred lines, we can't know for sure what the long term benefits and costs will be, such as choosing a college or career. I think sometimes whether the benefits outweigh the costs or not is not of particular importance if you are dead set on making that decision. Sometimes no matter what data or facts are thrown at you to convince you that the benefits do not outweigh the costs, you still choose that decision. This may not necessarily be bad, if it's what you want. For example my parents told me it would be a bad idea to take HL Business instead of another course, like HL English, because they didn't think there were any benefits. Of course there are costs and benefits for taking both, but it's impossible to tell what impact they'd have in my future. As a sophomore, I wouldn't have any idea if in life a business or english higher level course would benefit me, so I went with my gut decision to choose HL Business. 

Emotion, Memory & Reason

1. Comment on the connections between emotion & memory. You may research to find out more about emotion, memory & the brain (cite as needed).
2. Define 'high reason' and the 'somatic hypothesis'. How do you approach decision-making? Examples of decisions: doing your HW, EE topic, future education & career, what to eat at lunch

1)  Emotion and memory have a close link in the brain. Studies have been done and it's easy to find examples in my own life that show this. If something happened to you that gave you very strong emotions, perhaps guilt or fear, you may be able to remember that event more clearly and with more detail than anything else that happened that year or week. If you have a life event that is strongly connected with an emotion, you find yourself in a similar situation, your body can involuntarily recall the time you were in that situation, and how you felt, and make you feel the same way. For example if one time when you were a child, a German Shepherd bit you, you may have been extremely traumatized and scared. It's possible that the emotion of fear could be linked in your brain to german shepherds, and you make feel intense involuntary fear when you're around one, even if you know the dog is very gently. 

2) High reason is a type of decision making. This process values reason and logical deduction rather than emotions, which are considered obstacles in reaching a decision.
Somatic Hypothesis is decision making based on emotions. It's the gut feeling you get when making a decision, in which you're not sure exactly why one option is better than the other, but you feel like you should one.

The way I approach decision making changes depending on the type of decision I need to make. If it's a really simple decision with very low consequences and meaning the scheme of life, I use somatic reasoning completely. For example when deciding whether to wear one shirt or another to school, or to eat an apple or banana for a snack. When deciding whether to do my homework, I usually use high reason. It's logical and beneficial to do it, so most of the time I do. I also use that reasoning to decide which class gets the most priority in homework. However sometimes I used somatic reasoning if I really don't feel like doing homework at a certain time, and I just put it off even it's not logical because it's late or I have a lot. For bigger decisions such as my EE topic, college and career I know I'm going to use high reasoning. These decisions, or at least the last two, have a huge impact on my life. If I'm choosing perhaps between two colleges, emotions may come into play if I find them equal statistically. With my EE topic I think I need to use high reasoning to figure out what kind of topic is logical and doable, but at the same time I want to pick something that I'm passionate about, which would require somatic reasoning. 

Thoughts and Questions on Language

Is human language innate or learned?

Page 84-86

I found the example in extract B, the Piraha tribe in Brazil to be very interesting. The group does not have words or the concept of some numbers, which was very confusing to me. I can't understand how it's possible to have a language without those numbers, as someone who comes from a place where numbers are clearly defined. I think the findings of Benjamin Lee Whorf are very right, language influences and even determines thought. If a language doesn't have a word for something, than the people speaking probably don't have a concept for it either. I also think that languages only develop words and therefor concepts of things they need. If people have no need to talk or communicate about something, there's no reason for it.


1.  To what extent to the needs of a group using a language effect the way the language evolves?


2.  How does the ambiguity of the language of the Piraha effect their language

Knowledge in Symbols

1. This symbol has origins from the Bronze Age to present day. It is also letter in the Greek alphabet. The symbol has come to mean very different things, depending on the way it is turned.


2. This symbol when turned this way communicates the number three, and is very common in technical and scientific systems in present day because it is a Greek letter. The sign when turned like this has military meanings of air transportation and is also a common way to draw birds. It has been used as a symbol for fire in alchemy and has the modern connotation of looking the like logo for the large fast food chain McDonald's. When turned upside down the symbol has the meteorological meaning of being a sign for high, thin clouds.

3. I think the symbol is pretty ambiguous, but none of the meanings are particularly negative. I think it is up to interpretation and what the symbol is meant to mean. 

4. I think the knowledge problems associated with this symbol because it can mean so many different things. The meanings can get really confusing because of all the ways it can be used. 

5.  

This symbol can mean an alchemical sign and as an ancient Greek sign. It is also the symbol for the zodiac sign Aquarious 

WOK Language - global views

"...learning additional languages enhances the learning of the 'mother tongue' as well as broadening a student's worldview."

I think learning additional languages can enhance how you learn your "mother-tongue". Learning another language improves your awareness of languages in general and how they work, which isn't as easy to do by just focusing on the language you grew up speaking. 

I also agree that learning languages can broaden a student's worldview because the culture of the group of people that speak the language you're learning is often taught with the language. As you learn about the words a language has that may be different from words in your own mother tongue can help you understand that culture more as well. Also when you are fluent in another language, there are many more opportunities available for you. Travelling to other countries and feeling comfortable is now possible and therefor a student can feel like they are a part of the larger world. 

The article says that hyperpolyglots most likely have a unique neurological structure that the majority of people just don't have. Alex and Ray both seem to have a genuine love of languages. They seem passionate about the languages that they do know, and passionate to learn more. They both have had life experiences that seem to have supported their language learning. They also immerse themselves in the languages they learn and surround themselves with native speakers. 

There is a junior in our school who I think has similar qualities. She loves travelling to other countries and learning at least basic conversational words. She takes HL French and Latin and she knows at least some Italian and Arabic. I think she has a brain that is naturally wired for languages but she also works hard to learn languages to the best of her ability and often has conversations with native speakers of those languages. 

I would classify myself as an visual learner. I think writing down, repeating and learning vocab words helps me learn the best. When I hear a language it's harder for me to learn individual words or phrases even if I do understand the general meaning of what's being said. Since I take Latin and it is not spoken a lot in class, the visual aspect is everything for me to learn. When I took French I found it easier to study vocabulary that learn using "total immersion" when everything, the directions and assignments included, is spoken in that language. That was hard for me to learn the language, even when I understood the gist of what we were supposed to do. 

Sources Of Illogical Thinking

Skepticism

To a certain point, skepticism can be used in reasoning. There is a clear difference between having a permanent skeptic attitude and just feeling skeptic towards certain information in a situation. Being skeptic in certain situations, like when you are told something that is not backed up by good logical reasoning, is healthy. Having a permanent skeptic attitude is very dangerous because it gets rid of the reasoning process. There are two types of skeptic attitude. The extreme skeptic says there is no truth, which in itself is contradictory because the skeptic is claiming their statement to be true. The moderate skeptic says that there is truth, but humans can't reach it. For all intents and purposes though, this is the same argument as the extreme skeptic because truth we can't reach might as well not exist.


Evasive Agnosticism

Agnosticism is the belief that there is not enough knowledge on an issue to make a definite judgement on it. For example there are people who say that global warming doesn't exist, but an agnostic would say that they don't know whether there is or isn't because they don't have enough knowledge to prove either side of the argument. Agnostics, unlike skeptics, don't challenge whether there is truth or whether we as humans can reach it. Similarly to skepticism, there is a time and place for agnosticism. If we truly don't have enough knowledge on a topic, that is a time to be agnostic. However evasive agnosticism is when a person uses ignorance instead of logical reasoning. This attitude is claiming they can't decide on a topic either way, when really they know very little about the topic and the arguments on every side and claim agnosticism as a way to avoid that necessary logic for sound reasoning.


Example: Students in a class are asked to write an essay on whether they believe the culture in the United States or Mexico is more diverse. One student, who saved the essay for the last minute and didn't use the in class time given to research argues that both are equally as diverse. Although this argument would have been okay if it was backed up with knowledge, the student's laziness showed through obviously because there wasn't any sound logic or reasoning in the student's argument. The student didn't do any sort of researching to prove their argument, and instead of researching to make a well informed decision about what they believed, they tried to agnostic, but ended up being evasively agnostic because their decision that the cultures were equally diverse was just a way to try and avoid too much effort.

Narrow-Mindedness

A narrow-minded person refuses to consider alternatives to their own views only because they do not meet his prejudiced assumptions about what is and isn't worth pursuing. This is very different than a person who may purposely limit how much they question and research alternative views, this is a practical method and a way to avoid wasting time. However, the opposite of narrow-mindedness, open mindedness, can be just as much a problem if a person accepts everything they hear without questioning the logic behind them and all the information will just overwhelm them in the end.