My name is Val and this week we'll be focusing on critical thinking; as interdisciplinarians we're given an advantage over others who have only one weapon of choice, but that doesn't mean we got it easier.
Before we get started check out this Errol Morris' writing and this article about Youtube and the arts.
Having multiple disciplines and fusing them together leaves us not only with different solutions to problems, but helps us see problems that normally we wouldn't notice. And these problems aren't ones that are talked about in intro classes so it takes more than just us thinking outside the box.
How do you think interdisciplinary relates to critical thinking? After you figure that one out talk about your thoughts on the Errol Morris piece you had to look over and tell us how it can apply to real life situations?
Having multiple disciplines and fusing them together leaves us not only with different solutions to problems, but helps us see problems that normally we wouldn't notice. And these problems aren't ones that are talked about in intro classes so it takes more than just us thinking outside the box.
How do you think interdisciplinary relates to critical thinking? After you figure that one out talk about your thoughts on the Errol Morris piece you had to look over and tell us how it can apply to real life situations?
Also with YouTube being a huge part of our culture today and at the same time we have a strong performing art backbone, with iconic places like Broadway, what do you feel YouTube is doing? Is YouTube a beginner's stage? Or is it dumbing us down and taking away from appreciating "real" art?
Being able to use two disciplines in order to complete a task or possibly open new doors to different opportunites could definitely relate to critical thinking. Critical thinking is being able to make decisions, to alalyze situations, communicate clearly, and so on. Looking at how interdisclipinary relates to critical thinking is easy, they pretty much go hand and hand. In many cases when making a decision, theres two sides to the story or theres two things to chose from. Whenever dealing with two or more things you are using interdisciplinary skills. Also in order to communicate clearly you must know what you are talking about and the more background you have, the easier it is to express your thoughts and ideas.
ReplyDeleteWhen looking specifically at the part about decision making in Errol Morris' writing, I think it is very important to not just make a decision just becasue you have to make one becasue you will tend to make one to quick and not truely think about the options or consequences to that decision. That goes back to thinking critically and using your interdisciplinary skills to listen to both sides and take the time to think of the best solution. Use the skills that you have in the best way that you can. There is a positive to every skill and you have to look at it like that. Think that all your skills can help you and can only hurt you if used incorrectly.
In a sense youtube is a way that people who dream to be a celebrity or dream to be in movies put themselves out there on the internet for everyone to see. Some people make short films, some people try to put informational things out there, and some people try to make people laugh or do stupid things just to get attention. It could very well be considered a beginners stage but to those who are already in theater or on the big screans look at it as people who are wana-bees or simply those who are making fun of the art they take part in. I would like to think that youtube is more the beginners stage to those who have big dreams or just kids being kids but I can definitely see how people can take youtube as dumbing down art because of the unnecessary and ridiculous things that people put up.
Hailey,
DeleteYou bring up a good point about not making a decision just because you have to. Taking time to make a decision allows us to weigh all the options(even the ones we aren't aware of!) and make the best decision. What a great way to practice interdisciplinarity in every day life!
It used to drive me crazy when my grandfather would take a long pause before answering a question. He told me he was considering the options and choosing his words. Your comments reminded my of that, thank you. Also, do you think that performance art could ever have the same impact on Youtube that it has on people who experience it in person?
DeleteHailey,
DeleteI think you really grasped the meaning of Errol Morris article, which i found hard. I also liked the point you braught up about YouTube dumbing down because of the unnecessary and rediculous things people post. However i guess if u didnt have rediculous things you might not have genious or breath taking posts either.
I agree with you in that using two disciplines in order to complete a task or possibly open new doors to different opportunities. Thinking in different ways than most is helpful in so many situations. I also like your take on the Morris piece it is one of my pet peeves when people make careless quick decisions, that end up affecting them in a negative way, when they could have taken time to think.
DeleteI both agree and disagree with you Haley. I do feel that it is important to weight out the options before making a decision, but at the same time I am also a firm believer in trusting your gut or following your heart. Sometimes I think that your initial reactions and thoughts and decisions about a certain situation are correct because if they were incorrect then you would not have thought of them first. So, in a way you should weigh out the options, but at the same trusting your gut is how you really feel and you should go with what makes you the happiest!
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DeleteCritical thinking is about disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded and informed by evidence. I think that having multiple disciplines relies on critical thinking in order to incorporate and understand how they could work together. Having multiple disciplines means that we are always thinking how could this affect my other disciplines? How could area of study help me to better understand or explain my other area of study? Critical thinking and being IDS go hand in hand together. We like to look at certain situations with an open mind so that we are able to look at it from different angles to get different information.
ReplyDeleteWhen I look at Errol Morris piece I was very confused about what was going on, but after pulling it apart, you can see that critical thinking is so important when making any decisions or thinking in any way. If Wheeler had of applied critical thinking to his robbing he may have seen that lemon juice perhaps wasn’t the best option to hide his identity and could have kept and open mind to other options. The Duning-Kruger effect is saying that not having or showing the skills to do something can mask our ability to do the task successfully. However if we apply critical thinking and think of other ways we can perform a task (such as wearing a mask) by approaching it from a different angle we may be able to utilize other skill sets to get the task completed successfully.
With regards to the YouTube article I think that YouTube acts as a beginners stage for people who would not otherwise ever be able to share their talent with such a wide audience. The forming of YouTube in search of talent had not taken away from the “performing art backbone” but brought it into the 21st century and made it accessible for people to watch who would not otherwise get the opportunity. For actors or singers this does not stop them from performing to a live audience but enhances who watched their performances by tapping into the type of people who would not otherwise go to see them perform. However if you are looking at it form a accomplished professional point of view, it may be taking some of the credibility out of their work by making it accessible to everyone all the time. Instead of going to an Usher concert I could just YouTube his songs or past concerts but is this really all you go to a concert for?
Hey Anita!
DeleteI like your point about the different audience that YouTube appeals to. Do you think that interdisciplinarity in the work place could also help certain products or businesses appeal to a different audience?
what about your feelings in decision making. Evidence is a great way to go about making decisions, but is there room for feelings, emotions and intuition?
DeleteI wondered if the robber gave any thought to how the lemon juice would work to foil the security camera. Maybe if he'd taken a little more time to think about it he would have come to a different conclusion.
I think you're completely right when you say that just hearing your favorite is not the real reason you go to a concert. What do you think is lost in a video of a performance piece?
Anita,
DeleteI agree with you opinion about the "Youtube Stage". I think that it does give people the opportunity to partake in an industry that may have no other way of doing that. Also, tons of people on Youtube have never performed in public, but they have millions of hits because their providing entertainement to people who may not have gotten it otherwise.
I believe that interdisciplinaires and critical thinking do relate because we as IDS students have that diverse knowlegde to think differently than most others. The Errol Morris piece was interesting to read. I enjoyed it very much. I thought that their discussion was quite challenging about compentence verses incompentence. How can a person know about their incompentence if they are incompentent? That was a tricky question they brought up. I think that if you have any sort of compentence then you know when your incompetent of something. But if your just incompentent then how can you tell? That article talking about incompentencne and compentence relates to real life situations because knowing that you compnetence of something you know you can handle/figure it out but if you are incompentence then you will struggle with situations.
ReplyDeleteI dont think YouTube is dumbing us down, I just think YouTube is making individuals lazy and therfore not going out there themselves to get noticed. I also dont believe YouTube is a "beginners" stage. To me a beginners stage is actually doing small local performance to get noticed in your own town and getting your feet wet a bit so you can have a taste of the art world. That's what I had to do and I have deffinetely gotten myself noticed in my art community. YouTube is for people who are scared to physically go out there and try it themselves. Their affriad of getting rejected but that comes with being in the arts. Rejection is part of the job.
I agree that YouTube seemsto be making people extremely lazy. Instead of going out and being at a scoial interaction to see a show or film, they are more likely to stay at home and You
DeleteTube it so that they do not have to go out, get ready, and pay that money to do so.
Ashley,
DeleteThat is so great that you have had a chance to go out and really get into the performing arts community and even be recognized! I do feel though, that it is unfair to say everyone who posts their art on YouTube is scared of rejection. Everyone needs a different launching point to start from that they are comfortable with. That's the beauty of interdisciplinarity! We can all bring what we have to the table in order to achieve the best result. What do you think?
As bad as it is to say, the robber very well could have gotten away with the crime if he were to think through it and think about every option and what could of happened. I never thought of youtube that way! Although it is true that the peoplw who don't want to get rejected put their acts up there to see if people will like it or not and if not they can simply take it off. When in reality in order to be successful in the performing arts, you have to be able to take rejection and learn from it as well as have the confidence to succeed! great job on the reply!
DeleteIt has been said that a little bit of knowledge is a dangerous thing. When I talk to people who are experts in their field, they always comment on how little they (or anyone) knows about the entirety of that field. There is so much to be known that no one will ever know it all.
DeleteI love your personal approach to the YouTube issue, it is defenetly give the issues a breath of reality. I had also never thaught of the "getting rejected" part but I definetly agree with you. The people who post have a screen to hide behind and another issue would be weather they have applyed technology to change their voices ot to change thir appearences?
DeleteI agree with you Ashley. Youtube is not a "beginners stage" at all. Also, in my response I discussed how Youtube has also revolutionized the arts and specifically the performing arts by making videos widely accessible. I'm sure that you would agree, as a dancer, Youtube has become some what of a learning tool for the performing arts. Being able to access new material and new perspectives at any time, from any place. I also agree that Youtube has deterred people from not putting themselves out there. It allows them to avoid "getting their feet wet" in the real world of being a performing and an artist. Like you said, rejection is part of the job, and it helps us grow as individuals and artists.
DeleteI agree with you about the compentence verses incompetence part, how would someone know? very interesting concept to grasp and i don't think many people would be able to answer that question.
DeleteWhen critical thinking you should use interdisciplinary studies to see the different ways to solve a problem. This degree teaches us that in order to get the best solution to a problem we have to use many different disciplines. The Errol Morris piece was pretty interesting it can be tied to critical thinking in many ways. It's important to see the different sides of every situation so you are not forced into a quick and most likely incorrect solution. If the robber would have used critical thinking and thought of many different ways to perfect his crime, he might have gotten away with it. Also by using critical thinking we can put different skills of ours to the test.
ReplyDeleteThe youtube article made me realize how much it was actually hurting our preforming arts. You tube does take away from the preforming arts, they should be something you have to see in person, its just not the same. This country has taken part in the preforming arts since before Shakespeare, it is part of our history and people are starting to not appreciate it as much as they once had.
I agree that the robber was pety dumb and should have used critical thinking to plan out a better robbery. However, the robber did not know what was unknown, he was too stupid to even see it.
DeleteAlso, the YouTube thing is bad for performaing arts in a way but I feel that it is so different that it should not be able to be compared, but society today has less money to spend on shows so YouTube makes it a quick access.
Hey Jacqui!
DeleteYou make a great point about critical thinking being a way in which we can put our different skills as interdisciplinarians to the test. What are some of those skills that we may be using?
It is so important to have the best solution for a problem and you're right that our interdisclipinary studies can help us in making that decision. I also agree that art is being less appreciated as the years go by. Technology is just advancing so much that anyone can film themselves and upload it whenever they please. There is no filter to anything that goes up on youtube. Great point!
DeleteI completely agree with you on the You tube thing. It is hurting our performing arts community and seeing performances live lets you feel that appreciation of all the hard work they did to put that performance on for you. It's making young individuals not appreciate where the history came from.
DeleteWhen you begin to critical thinking you are trying to analyze and decide whether the claim is right or wrong or partially right or partially wrong. I feel that the best way to be able to make a decision like that is to look at the claim or question from a 360 degree point of view. You must be able to know all the ins and outs of the problem to decide whether it is right or wrong. Interdisciplinary studies allows you to do just that Being trained and educated to use your fields of study to your best ability you should be able to break down and analyze the steps to the problem from many points of view.
ReplyDeleteThe Errol Morris piece was very interesting. First off , it is a hard concept to follow because you seriously have to realize that you do not know what you do not know. There is a difference between the fact that I know I do not know how to do differential equations, but I do not know what I do not know about the unknown. This is extremely confusing and the only way to go about this type of conclusion would be to use critical thinking. Using the critical thinking you look at a problem to decide whether it is right or wrong, and it takes a truly intelligent person to realize that they do not know enough to be able to answer that question whether it is right or wrong. Because if you think you know everything, you only know what you know to know.
I feel that using YouTube is such a different type of media that it cannot be compared to Broadway. If anything, I would see YouTube as a beginner stage for practice and to get your name out there and get feedback to make yourself better. I would say YouTube is more a tool to get you along to track of Broadway if that what your dreams are.
I think you've really grasped the concept of critical thinking Amanda! My question to you is similar to the one I asked Jacqui: What are some of the skills we could use to critically analyze problems from an interdisciplinary perspective?
DeleteI agree with you on the critical thinking about analyzing a problem from a 360 degree view. You have to, thinking critically, in order to understand every aspect of that problem.
DeleteYour answer was along the same line that I gave. I know with IDS you have to pick two areas of study and a minor. With just that alone, we have so much more insight on different things that the traditional student who only studies one subject
DeleteI think that being interdisciplinary relates to critical thinking by helping us to solve a problem. For example, a majority of the problems that our society or even us as individuals face today can all be solved by using an interdisciplinary approach. One just has to think critcally in order to discover the appropriate solution. Being interdisciplinary has many advantages over those who are monodiciplinarians. It allows to view every situation from many different perspectives, which in turn, is the best way to view something. One should not look at a particular problem with blinders on or only take into consideration a portion of what is going on. Being interdisciplinary allows for us to take a look at the whole picute along with every little detail that makes it up. I thoroughly enjoyed the Errol Morris piece. I especially enjoyed the ending where he is talking about how we must be aware of what we don't know. Ithink this is important and useful because knowing what you don't know is almost as, if not more important than what you know. For example, discovering what you don't know can help to open you up as an individual to new perspectives, new ideas and new disciplines. Overall, being aware of what you don't know is a great way to gain a new perspective on the world and the people around you. Also, youtube is a huge part of our social culture today. Being a dancer, performer and teacher I find that youtube is a helpful way to put new choreographic ideas out into the world. It allows for myself as a dancer to develop a new perspective on movement or music, and allows me to create my own interpretation. I feel that although youtube is not as sophisticted as attending a musical on Broadway or going to see the opera, it allows the general population to immerse themselves in the arts. youtbe stimulates growth, passion, creativity and the immergence of new ideas. For example, it never fails that I go to rehearsal, or take a dance class, or even if I am simply improvising with my friends, the phrase "I saw this on youtube" will be said at least once. So, in a way, yes, youtube is taking away from the true artistry and passion of the performing arts, but at the same time it is developing a whole new genre of art for the next generation to come. I think that saying that youtube is taking away from the arts, is like saying that email has taken away from letter writing or snail mail. Of course, it is exciting to receive a letter in the mail, but technology has made our lives differentin which we have the choice. Therfore when we do receive a birthday card or a letter from a loved one, we appreciate that hand written letter that much more. I think youtube works the same. Viewing something via the internet is not the same as going to see it live. Therefore, when you do get the chance to sit in the audience your experience is heightened because you can be much more appreciative of it.
ReplyDeleteI think IDS relates to critical thinking because you have so many areas you can pull from to make decisions. I know with my sociology minor it has helped me to see my two areas of focus differently just because I have more of an insight on culture and how society reacts to it.
ReplyDeleteThe article mentioned not making decisions just because you have to. I think in real life that happens all the time and when were faced with a decision we just make it instead of taking time to weigh the pros and the cons of our decisions. For example, some people don't think about school choices they just go where ever maybe their parents what them to go. I think the better qpproach would be to sit down and think about all the factors that are included when attending the school. I think it'd be great to visit the school,research majors, and get a feel of the city because it's likely you'll be living there for a while.
I think Youtube is a beginner stage!! Times are changing and Youtube has become a source that people use to get their foot in the door. I don't think that's it's taking away from anything because I think as our world revolves we as people have to as well