Sylvan enters the picture

Sylvan's class dealt with american election time campaigns.

As an interesting offshoot, Rab told us about Ralph Nader. Link below leads to an interesting interview of Nader.

http://www.democracynow.org/2009/9/21/ralph_nader_on_the_g20_healthcare

I was taught in high school that America had only two parties. It turns out to be partially true, because realistically, the indies have no chance of winning.

Though this blogpost is short because i want everyone to see the interview instead of taking my word for it.

sleeeping beauties

I went to a convention held by the Sustainable Management Forum of Japan yesterday. Held in Tokyo University's Komaba campus, it dealt with various issues regarding the environment.I was interested in ESD ( see slide below) and so i decided to participate. What i saw was professionals committing grave errors when it came to their presentations. Their slides, My God! many people were fast asleep in the comfy chairs( the chairs in Todai's convention hall are king-sized and soft!)and the lecturer just reads on and on and on......

Anyway, the educatioal system in Japan is slowly changing, but one alarming trend was the participation of industries in education. This might lead to schools

acting as grooming schools for the companies .

And if the Nature of Thought is not Everywhere the Same?

I feel that the last chapter of this book raises more questions than it can answer.

It highlights the weaknesses in the argument, reminding us that, though the research is good, it is after all evaluated from a western point of view. Using the Nobel Prize as an example of a standard of excellence in science fails to recognise that it is a Western product.

After learning of the binary way of thinking of the west, i felt that sustainable environmental practices might not come from there. such practices require the ability to holistically comprehend the costs and benefits. this means that a lot of small things are taken into account. The Western way of thinking assumes that we need to know everything and formulates absolute theories based on incomplete knowledge and then applies it to various situations. And then forces everyone to believe it.

The last part of the chapter deals with IQ tests and tangrams. I, for one, suck at tangram.

Finally, he states the assumption: that we are currently involved in a global homogenising process.

want to have a real laugh?

What a coincidence! just as we learned about 24, this article appeared in today's issue of The Japan Times. I'm sorry that i had to scan the picture, but i did it so that i could highlight the parts which made me want to laugh. I think you can see a bigger image if you click on it.

( received a mail just now from rab saying that he won't be able to come to class. What a horrific experience it must have been for his mother-in-law. 3.5 metres! my god!with her grandson in front! I wish for their speedy recovery )

now, i realized that i haven't made a proper introduction of myself yet because i wasn't present for the first three days of the class. First, i want to explain why i was not present for the first three days of class. Actually, it all started with the placement interview. During the interview, i was informed that i had aced the toefl test, and they were considering whether to put me into the JLP or not. But since i had spent my three years in high school learning Japanese from scratch and therefore was unable to study english, they grudgingly allowed me to enter the ELP. From this, i inferred that i would be in program c. Next, my reg. no. is 141001. Naturally, i thought that my name would be on top, and as i looked, it said CA.( later, i found out that it was 121001 on top)

Anyway, i came to Japan three years ago on my own to learn agriculture. Not just any agriculture, but agriculture based on scientific facts which was at the same time compatible with human food security and health.Though i was a bit scared of going out on my own to country with no chance of going back, but the prospect of being able to gain true independence from the consumerist mindset gave me courage. True to my expectations, i learned. Not about the best way to earn top marks in juken, but to grow vegetables. Of course, my relatives and teachers told me that i was making a big mistake but, who cares? in my view, handing over your right to food is the stupidest thing you can do, except perhaps slitting your wrists. I am a farmer and am proud of it.

So, yes, i may be lacking in terms of knowledge and exposure to technology compared to other Japanese students. But since i am lucky enough to have Rab as my teacher this term, I hope to overcome the technological hurdle. I am enthusiastic about having this golden opportunity, and i am not going to allow it to go to waste. And because i hate to lose, i want to be second to none.

P &Ds

Today i was followed around by a girl who wanted to see me just because of my name. i forgot her's

(i Am BAD at remembering names of people who follow me around because of my name)

Anyway, we had a P&D today. The pressure to come up with a topic for the essay does wonders. it forces you to come up with something, and after you've said it, you've got to do it since everybody knows you are going to do it.

I was thinking of doing something about how the current system encourages unsustainable financial practices, doesn't reward localisation of economies, that sort of thing. but its going to be a real slog.

speaking of hard work, i went to the orientation for students thinkng about teaching and... OH MY GOD! put short, i have to rethink my priorities.

Stereograms

I never cease to be amazed by stereograms. Is it possible for a stereogram to occur in real life? i mean, naturally? If so, that could explain some supernatural experiences, maybe....

Over the weekend, i went to Niigata's Uonoma district to help revive the wetlands of the region. Through this activity, we hope that the flora and fauna of this region gets a major boost. By the way, saturday was world biodiversity day...

though it was fun, everybody around me was from Waseda so i felt a bit out of place.

we also drank a lot of sake. especially before breakfast, at a religious ceremony.

My world was spinning for a while...

all in all, it was an excellent way to spend the weekend.

Wanted: girl with qualities listed

message courtesy of Rab's Know Yourself Know Your Partner (tm)

looking for girl who is aloof, relaxed, aware, dangerous, assured and yet reclusive.

( i think the criteria are rather eastern... they ask for contradictory personalities)

On Monday and Tuesday, we did some Psychological tests.

I wonder what happens if you do the test a second time... will it be an accurate indicator of how people want to be perceived?

We did some excercises about formal grammar styles. It was rather fun trying to find synonymous words for phrases.

We discussed Barna too. Is there a stereotype for appearances? for example, when people hear my name, they think that i cannot speak english, and there some irritating people who speak very slowly even after they learn of my background. Is this a stereotype?

And when i was in india, people said," he's Japanese, but his Bengali is good"

What about past experiences when it comes to judging people?

Rab acted as if he was very angry in yesterday's class, and expected us to catch the winks he was sending us. However, when in india, staring at a person's face when he is visibly agitated, especially a teacher's , is just inviting trouble.

Assumptions are difficult.....

the bigger picture

In the last class before the retreat, we studied about fallacies.

i felt that fallacies occur when we think about the same thing from one point of view for a long time. also, specializing too much is dangerous, because we may be right , but out of context. like this man, cutting a branch. Though he may succeed in his argument(cutting) , since it is out of context(the branch that he is sitting on), he fails(dies) . To watch out for red herrings, therefore, we need to be able to comprehend the bigger picture.

"Ce n'est Pas Logique" or "You've Got a Point There"?

"This is not Logical" or "You've Got a Point There"? whats with the French title? anyway, it gave me the opportunity to use Google's translator.

This chapter was more interesting than the last one because it argues about beliefs

Human beings are prime examples of contradictions. Humans are aware of sin, yet they commit them. It is inevitable that one comes to term with such contradictions. However, Americans seem to be in denial judging by the way they prefer a black/white answer to a gray one.

Maybe this is one reason why America can go to war so recklessly in the name of Justice.

AArrgh! the editing disappeared.... is this the technological equivalent of ' the dog ate my homework'?

Anyway, reducing the answers to either...or is just too.... immature. Isn't it better to work together to build a better solution? True, it won't be a universal Truth, but it might be the best answer for the current situation.

The LbH (pound heavy) book

On monday( sorry for the messed up chronological order) we used the LBH to evaluate our partner's answers for the PWT.

Thinking the LBH is good only for that kind of stuff isn't so fun.

reading through, however, one comes across various interesting sections.

The part about visual arguments is one such section. It tells us how to evaluate a picture.

The great thing about images is you don't have to prove the reliability of the sources most of the time. Why? because seeing is usually believing, and thus the readers can draw their own conclusions.

Rab also said that we would be guinea pigs for many different tests. One can be pretty sure that Rab isn't bluffing when he announces that we are going to be starting something new.

About Critical thinking

Yesterday, we had a class about Critical Thinking.

I had one doubt. Rab used the example of AIDS awareness classes in High school. I wasn't convinced by Rab's arguments. 1> because the assumption states teenagers when the statement clearly says High School, and2> it is usually specialists who come to give a talk , and not a regular teacher.(assuming it is in Japan, which Rab said was a valid assumption)

The other assumptions were kind of easy to find out.Our mind-set was,'there's got to be an assumption', so we found them. Is it possible to do that too in real life? Isn't that bordering on paranoia? Rab said yesterday that the lady was from Monbukagakusho, I thought how one could write a critical thinking book, or if there even existed one 'approved' by the MEXT.

anyway, Rab told us the answer, that no, she wasn't from Monbukagakusho. But does Wave publishing exist? i couldn't find a relevant company on the net.

Should we believe Rab now? on what basis? that he won't trick us the second time round about the same thing? if we are to follow Meiland, we should investigate, but in real life, we end up taking Rab's word for it.

about that message. It was sent at 11:58, meaning just before the day ended. Does it mean that everyone has to have their blog-posts up by then? I think i heard correctly when Rab said "make sure you post the blogs about today's class "without specifying the time.

What was most informative was the way a professional writer works- they write it up way before the deadline, have a rest before editing their work, and then submit it before the deadline.

IsThe World Made Up of Nouns or Verbs?

This chapter starts with two 'tests'. I was Eastern on the first test, Western on the second.hmmm.
In the next test, there was a picture of imaginary creatures. what confused me was the absence of 'the curly tail' during the training period. Maybe that makes things complicated.

on page 148, the author starts..'How is it possible that Easterners today have relatively little interest in categories , find it hard to learn new categories by applying rules about properties and make spontaneous use of them for purposes of induction?'

this overlooks the fact that many eminent scientists in the field today are Japanese.

Its true that Japanese people use verbs more than Westerners, who prefer nouns.

The examples the writer uses are very convincing.

The author also favours the western method assuming that the world is relatively stable. However, the world we live in today is subtly changing , and maybe western thought just cannot cope with the changes. so maybe eastern thought is superior......

This Is What Democracy Looks Like and Why the Japanese do Nothing About It

On Friday, we watched a video called, " This is what democracy looks like".
At the beginning of the video, we saw some executives confined in their hotel, unable to get out due to the protesters. And we saw the protesters outside. What struck me the most was that the people shown on the inside were almost all white people, while the protesters were mostly people from diverse ethnic backgrounds.
Maybe this diversity of ethnic identities makes it easier to protest.

An excerpt from one of the additional readings :
What authority do you have to speak out on media issues , given that you're not even working journalists yourself?
everyone should have the right to speak out on issues they feel are important.
http://www.medialens.org/about/overview_of_the_propaganda_model.php

the above comment by David Edwards and David Cromwell helped me think of a reason as to why the Japanese don't speak out on major issues. Japanese always leave it to the person in charge.
The Japanese social system also evaluates not what you say , but who you are in the social hierarchy.

ASSUME

After reading Rab's evaluation about my essay, i realised the places in which i was lacking, and set about trying to remedy them. What he mentioned most vociferously was my lack of sources, so i spent a few happy hours at the library, coming across delightful sources in increasingly thick forms! oh joy! my heart practically danced at the thought of going through those pages, searching for useful quotes with which to counter Rab. So i spent my sunday mostly indoors (who wants to go out with such perfect weather, birds chirping, and trees rustling, friends calling? of course it is more fun to study.)

After a trip to the Library, i came across Tomoya, who kindly informed me that my efforts were all in vain- the essays we submitted were supposed to be the final copies.

I am heart-broken. I feel like shooting all those chirping birds, and the sun has hidden behind the clouds at my wrath. I am heart-broken, for I have Assumed again. I Assumed that what we submitted were drafts.

When will i learn to stop assuming...(sigh)......

but my pride will not allow to give up. i will rewrite my essay, and hope i do not make an ass out of myself the next time.

chapter 5 "The Bad Seed" or "The Other Boys Made Him Do It"

I can't shake off the feeling that too much critical thinking will make me a very cranky old man.

Anyway, i read the 5th chapter of this book.

What interested me the most was the passage where the author highlights a common error made by Westerners=the ignoring of the situation and inventing strong dispositional explanations for behavior. This signifies a severe lack of critical thinking(because they accept things at face value) from the supposed originators of critical thinking. Reading on , one is guided to the conclusion that the Eastern school of thought is superior.

Yesterday, when speaking with a senior student, the topic of discussion changed to the state of affairs in Japan. more specifically, to the dwindling Japanese population. when I made the statement that the Japanese would be the first race to die out, he agreed whole-heartedly.' Where is your sense of patriotism?,' i asked. He replied that he did not care. Maybe his is an isolated case, but nonetheless, i felt that it was a lack of affection for his surroundings which caused him to take such a stand. IF one were to wholly believe the author, such a statement wouldn't be expected.

a few days in ARI (アジア学院）

After the epoch that was the submission of our essays, i left it all behind and headed for Tochigi.

but i couldn't get away from it all.... i happened across a post by Natsuko. 4-23-2010.

hahahaha! here comes polygamy (or polyandry)! unfortunately, unlike boys, books are worth fighting for, and thats the reason why you cant get some of the best books for free.... you only get a peek.

I for one, am not satisfied with a peek at something or someone, and so i guess its back to monogamy.......hahhhh

about the last class before GW, Rab asked us why Japanese students do not protest against the govt.

i think the reason why we do not protest is that we don't have role-models.

the group mentality might also be another.

or maybe we're spineless jellyfish. hah!

but it might be that we favor subterfuge to head-on challenges.... working behind the scenes instead of onstage..

there's nothing about ARI in this post.