The Myth of the Machine The Myth of the Machine is a two volume series of books taking an in-depth look at the forces that have shaped modern technology since prehistoric times. The first volume, Technics and Human Development was published in 1967, followed by the second volume, The Pentagon of Power in 1970. The author, Lewis Mumford, shows the parallel developments between human tools and social organization mainly through language and rituals.[1] It is considered a synthesis of many theories Mumford developed throughout his prolific writing career. Megamachine[edit] "In The Myth of the Machine, Mumford insisted upon the reality of the megamachine: the convergence of science, technics and political power as a unified community of interpretation rendering useless and eccentric life-enhancing values. Volume I, Technics and Human Development[edit] Volume II, The Pentagon of Power[edit] The "pentagon" refers to: PoliticsPower (in the sense of physical energy)ProductivityProfitPublicity References[edit]
Linguistic relativity The principle of linguistic relativity holds that the structure of a language affects the ways in which its respective speakers conceptualize their world, i.e. their world view, or otherwise influences their cognitive processes. Popularly known as the Sapir–Whorf hypothesis, or Whorfianism, the principle is often defined to include two versions: Strong version: that language determines thought and that linguistic categories limit and determine cognitive categoriesWeak version: that linguistic categories and usage influence thought and certain kinds of non-linguistic behaviour. The term "Sapir–Whorf hypothesis" is a misnomer, because Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf never co-authored anything, and never stated their ideas in terms of a hypothesis. Definitional issues and debates[edit] The concept of linguistic relativity holds that cognitive processes, such as thought and experience, may be influenced by the categories and patterns of the language a person speaks. History[edit]
Your Baloney Detection Kit Sucks I still remember the thrill of first encountering a summary of Carl Sagan's Baloney Detection Kit . Reading through the list of logical fallacies, I could feel a change come over my being and my posture: my biceps bulged, my abs hardened into a carapace, and my gonads turned to solid granite. I had discovered the secret weapons cache of the elite commandoes of reason, and now I felt invincible. Armed with Sagan's checklist, I was sure I could survive any argument undefeated. But when I went on Internet forums and saw the Baloney Detection Kit in action, I was shocked and puzzled. I became rapidly disillusioned with the power of logical fallacies, and over time, my disillusionment has only grown. As both my regular readers will know, I made my first million dollars by writing a webpage explaining why the term ad hominem is so often incorrectly used . Logical fallacies are only relevant in certain narrow rhetorical modes and contexts. "You're concocting a straw man of skepticism.
Dumbing Us Down Dumbing Us Down: The Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling (ISBN 086571231X) is a book by teacher John Taylor Gatto. It has sold over 200,000 copies [1] and consists of a multitude of speeches given by the author. The book proposes that radical change is needed to the American educational system to turn around the negative socialization that children receive. Book review by Layla ARThe Odysseus Group Web site of John Taylor Gatto, reviews page for Dumbing Us Down: the Hidden Curriculum of Compulsory Schooling [2] Logocracy Logocracy is the rule of—or government by—words. It is derived from the Greek λόγος (logos) - "word" and from κράτος (kratos) - to "govern". The term can be used either positively, ironically or negatively. Historical examples[edit] "unknown to these people themselves, their government is a pure unadulterated LOGOCRACY or government of words. The whole nation does every thing viva voce, or, by word of mouth, and in this manner is one of the most military nations in existence [...] The Soviet Union was described by Nobel Prize winner Czesław Miłosz,[3] as a logocracy.[4] It was for example, according to Christine D. Totalitarianism, according to political theorist Hannah Arendt, can be considered a logocracy, since in it ideas are no longer important, just how they are expressed.[8] Academic Yahya Michot has referred to Sunni Islam as a "popular" or "laic logocracy", in that it is government by the word of the Koran.[9] See also[edit] References[edit]
Developing critical thinking It means not taking what you hear or read at face value, but using your critical faculties to weigh up the evidence, and considering the implications and conclusions of what the writer is saying. Imagine two situations. On the first, you are on a country walk and you come across a notice which tells you not to attempt to climb a fence because of risk of electrocution. An allied skill is the ability to analyse – that is, to read or listen for the following points: How robust are the points presented as evidence? The key to critical thinking is to develop an impersonal approach which looks at arguments and facts and which lays aside personal views and feelings. Debate: arguing different points of view. Critical and analytical thinking should be applied at all points in academic study - to selecting information, reading, writing, speaking and listening. Selecting information critically For books, who is the publisher? What is its source? Reading critcally 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Writing Critically
Human Universals Those unique to humans[edit] According to Brown, the following are unique to humans:[1][2] Notes[edit] References[edit] George P. External links[edit] Language and thought A variety of different authors, theories and fields purport influences between language and thought. Many point out the seemingly common-sense realization that upon introspection we seem to think in the language we speak. A number of writers and theorists have extrapolated upon this idea. Scientific hypotheses[edit] Examples[edit] Counting[edit] Different cultures use numbers in different ways. Perhaps the most different counting system from that of modern Western civilisation is the “one-two-many” system used by the Pirahã people. Orientation[edit] Color[edit] Language may influence color processing. Other schools of thought[edit] See also[edit] References[edit] Jump up ^ Gordon, P., (2004).
HOW DOES OUR LANGUAGE SHAPE THE WAY WE THINK? Humans communicate with one another using a dazzling array of languages, each differing from the next in innumerable ways. Do the languages we speak shape the way we see the world, the way we think, and the way we live our lives? Do people who speak different languages think differently simply because they speak different languages? Does learning new languages change the way you think? Do polyglots think differently when speaking different languages? These questions touch on nearly all of the major controversies in the study of mind. I often start my undergraduate lectures by asking students the following question: which cognitive faculty would you most hate to lose? Most questions of whether and how language shapes thought start with the simple observation that languages differ from one another. Clearly, languages require different things of their speakers. Scholars on the other side of the debate don't find the differences in how people talk convincing. 1 S. 3 B. 4 L. 5 D. 7 L. 8 L.
The Cult of the Amateur The book was based in part on a controversial essay Keen wrote for The Weekly Standard, criticizing Web 2.0 for being similar to Marxism, for destroying professionalism and for making it impossible to find high quality material amidst all of the user-generated web content.[1][2][3] Contents[edit] Keen argues against the idea of a read-write culture in media, stating that "most of the content being shared— no matter how many times it has been linked, cross-linked, annotated, and copied— was composed or written by someone from the sweat of their creative brow and the disciplined use of their talent." He elaborates on the point by saying, "Of course, every free listing on Craigslist means one less paid listing in a local newspaper. Mr. Keen quotes social philosopher Jürgen Habermas about the internet and related technologies: "The price we pay for the growth in egalitarianism offered by the Internet is the decentralized access to unedited stories. Reviews and reception[edit] Chapters[edit]