Aesthetic Awareness

I'm going to have to go with the flow on this one. There aren't that many postings, so I'll once again comment on Bryan's post.

I'd never really considered looking around at a city, let alone a mall. If you're a fan of David Gray, and happened to download his iTunes Originals, you'd get to hear an interesting quote. He believes that art as we once knew it is dead. Our culture is no longer surrounded by starving artists around Paris, hawking their small paintings to American and European tourists. Art is now all round us.

Art is now on the box of cereal we eat in the morning, the iPod we throw in over our ears, and even on the websites we visit, yes, even the dirty ones. So it does not suprise me that Bryan made the observation of malls, but his observation is brilliant. Seriously, who ever really looks at that? I worked at American Eagle for awhile, after dragging my butt into the mall, getting paid $7.00 an hour doesn't really make me want to think about my surroundings. I did notice that over time, the logos, colors, and styles of brands do change.

As I stated previously, I never noticed my surroundings in a mall, let alone appreciated their presence or contribution to the world of art. Piecing together David Gray's quote and Bryan's observations made me want to head to the mall right now and take another look at the way I see my surroudings.

Aesthetic Awareness

Art is all around us. It is in the way we think, how we act, what we look at. The most common form of art is found in museums. When I think of Aesthetic Awareness this is what first comes to mind. After that I think of the art that we discussed in my Art as a Social Action class that Beau mentioned. That class took what I thought of as art and expanded it. One peice in particular that sticks out in my mind is that of a pig with tatoos on it of expensive handbags. I would never have thought of that as art before I took that class. And even beyond that, as Beau mentioned, sounds and smells can be art. The smell of a delicious pie wafting through the air or the voice of an opera singer. Art is something that I have a hard time defining. It is different for every person. What I consider to be art someone else might not. That is why I think of art as personal and different to each person. Everything around us is art, it is just how we look at them that determines whether we see it that way or not.

Reflection of Information Technology

One student discussed her experience with a class that taught you to create your own website. I was in a similar class where we had to create a website for ourself, and I have to admit I raised my hand probably more than any other student. I was very confused but then in the end very please with my work. However given a time that I would have to do that again, I would probably have to have someone help me with it or go out and buy the book.
Another student was discussing the IT work that they had to complete with Stat 250. I also had to take stat 250 and that person must have had such a better teacher than I did. My instructor couldnt teach to save her life. She did explain how to use the software, but she couldnt explain the material for the course at all. This kind of turned me off to the idea of using this software to help with the problems.
Also one student mentioned being able to understand the value of new technology, I understand it, I just dont know how to use it.

IT Competency Reflection

From reading several of my classmates’ posts about Information Technology, a few things are clear. Many of us feel the same way Jennifer does – IT isn’t exactly everyone’s cup of tea, to put it lightly. Others recognized that it’s an acquired taste and a “necessary evil,” as Matthew stated. But I think Bryan may have hit it on the head with his real-life work situation when talking about applying this competency outside the classroom as well as with other NCC competencies.

Bryan seemed to infer that even though some competencies like this aren’t absolutely ideal, it’s clear that in many situations like the one he described in his office setting. In many cases, whether we like to admit it entirely or not, the IT competency can assist us in group interaction, global understanding, and critical thinking, just to name a few. Group interaction was key in Bryan’s case – the case of working in an office together to achieve a certain goal. And proficiency on internet programs can open all sorts of doors to competencies like global understanding and critical thinking.

An example using these competencies that comes to mind would be a research proposal, for example. Proficiency in the IT competency would make such a proposal much easier, to make an understatement. I remember going to the library during the first year experience to learn how to use the databases through the University library system, and this led to a greater understanding of a competency that we probably utilize much more often than we even realize.

Aesthetic Awareness Reflection

One aspect of aesthetic awareness that I really had never considered before was a topic that Bryan mentioned. He mentioned that aesthetic awareness has to do with smells and sounds and the cohesive environment that art creates. I had always linked aesthetic awareness with going to a museum and viewing a piece of work. To be honest, I never really though of going to a shopping mall as an “art” related experience. I see now that this really could be viewed as art. The way that everything blends together and creates one overall mood or setting really is art. Let’s think about it, when you go into a restaurant, you are anticipating a certain style of music, food, and crowd. You are waiting for a certain experience. The people that work or manage the store are the ones that are responsible for this experience. Does this mean that in some sense these people are artists? By Bryan’s definition, those very people are creating an experience through your senses. Whether this can be viewed as some new-wave of art is still left to be decided. I simply never though of aesthetic awareness like this until I read Bryan’s post. I still firmly believe in the traditional ways of art such as music, poetry, and paintings; but I still think that there are other forms of art waiting to be discovered. Taking trash and making it into a piece of art is a movement that is really on the rise. Again, I think art comes in many different forms and people will never look at things in the same way. Art is something different to everyone.

Aesthetics Reflection

Some people mention that art is pretty subjective. What one person considers art could be interpreted as trash, non-art, or even obscene. Bmuheald talks about how learning more about the history of art and different artists helped increase their awareness and appreciation of art. The extra information changed the interpretation of what is and isn’t art. The pieces of art have not changed physically, but the knowledge and interpretation has changed. Jennifer also brings up the importance of context when she says, “Art is what people say it is….Anything can be art. Art is all in the interpretation.”

Thinking of art that way is something I had always assumed and never thought about, but their posts remind me that not everyone thinks that way. I need to be aware that people probably will have a different set of information when looking at a piece, that will affect how they interpret the piece as art, good art, bad art, trash, etc., and that changing the context of the piece can change someone’s interpretation.

Jennifer W. also makes a good point when she says that the process might be art instead of or in addition to the final product. That reminds me of part of my AVT 307: Aesthetics class when we looked at the Japanese tea ceremony. Instead of the tea, cups, and tea pot being the ceremony, Prof. Zam tried to convey that the process of the ceremony was the important part of the experience. I forgot about that part of aesthetics since that class, and Jennifer’s Townhall post reminded me of that way of looking at aesthetics.

-Bryan

Critical Thinking and Strategic Problem Solving- Jenn

The competencies Strategic Problem Solving and Critical Thinking are often hard to differentiate. On the one hand, the main goal of Strategic Problem Solving is the ability to form an effective plan to address a defined problem. In Simpler terms, a person who is fluent in this competency has the ability to look at a situation, define a problem, if any at all, construct an effective plan, carry out the plan, and if not solve, at least better, the problem. This may not sound difficult, but in actuality it is. Any individual can look at a situation, determine that a problem exist, and construct a plan to better the problem. The part of this equation that presents difficulty is constructing an effective plan. If a plan is constructed and carried out that is ineffective, havoc may break lose, strengthening the problem. This is why the competency is so important, ensuring that upon graduation NCC students are able to construct effective plans to solve problems. A final defining aspect of the competency is that Strategic Problem Solving revolves around a goal. Unlike Critical Thinking, Strategic Problem is goaled to better, or ultimately solve a problem. Critical Thinking does not revolve around, or is not goaled towards forming informed opinions, but rather when one becomes fluent in the competency, it happens naturally.

On the other hand, the main objective of Critical Thinking is forming considered judgments. In simpler terms, a person who is fluent in this competency has the ability to listen to or acknowledge different ideas and opinions, from different sources and situations, such as the Internet, books, or people, and form their own judgment on the subject. According to NCC, a considered judgment is well thought-out, and carefully measured. Critical thinking is a “tool for analyzing”, as Casey stated in her discussion. The skill is used for exploration, rather then solving something. Unlike Strategic Problem Solving, there are no defined steps for this process. This competency may seem easy to conquer, but in actuality it can be difficult. This is because making considered judgments requires an open-mind. An open-mind is required because often the opinions expressed differ from your own, and the subject matter encountered is offensive and disturbing. A person fluent in this competency has the ability to acknowledge all opinions and subjects despite this, in order to make a considered judgment. A person lacking this ability makes opinions, but they are rash and prejudice. This competency is incredibly important to master, ultimately aiding in shaping the values and beliefs of NCC students.

Finally, how the two competencies are related needs to be discussed. Firstly, Casey mentioned an important part of Strategic Problem Solving and Critical Thinking in her discussion; this being that they are both learned skills. No person is born with the ability to form an effective plan to address a defined problem. As previously stated, a person may be able to shape a plan, but this plan is often ineffective. Only through exposure, meaning trial and error, is a person introduced to the skills needed for Strategic Problem Solving. This is where the word strategic or strategy comes into play. Skills are needed to be strategic and calculated. Critical Thinking is learned as well. As previously stated, an open-mind is required for this competency. This is because many of the opinions expressed differ from your own, and much of the subject matter encountered is offensive and disturbing. A person who has not developed the skill to keep an open-mind is not capable of being fluent in this competency. Being open to differing opinions and subjects is learned from exposure to tolerance and appreciation by other people. Finally, the competencies are related by Critical Thinking directly leading to Strategic Problem Solving. This means that once an individual fluent in the competencies has formed a considered judgment about something, they may identify a problem. This defined problem needs to then addressed, consequently developing an effective plan that will better the problem. Being able to identify the interconnectedness among, and apply this to everyday life, is a huge part of NCC’s competencies.

Better Living Through IT

Information technology (IT) compliments the communication competency best because it makes it easier for people to communicate and opens up different methods and styles of communicating. Ben mentions that learning Excel and representing data for his ecology lab and using PhotoShop and PowerPoint for his gladiatorial prisons presentation. Matthew and others mention using instant messenger (IM). I think those are really good examples of how IT can open up new avenues and evolve how people communicate among one another. IT really isn’t that bad.

I think a lot of people don’t see IT for the fun side. Many people mention using it for research, presentation, and projects; it’s all very functional reasons. The pleasurable aspects of IT are pretty neglected. Yeah, I said, “pleasurable” and “IT” in the same sentence. The evolution of IT in the elements of everyday life have created new experiences for people. IT isn’t just the computer and internet research; it includes cell phones, digital camcorders, blogs, grassroots media, and whatever gadgets you’re using to keep in touch with people.

Look at the World Cup, there were satellite feeds, streaming video and audio broadcasts online, up-to-the-minute website updates, team websites, and a whole slew of other it-related bits and pieces that made the World Cup experience more immersive and sensory pleasurable. IT has made it much easier for people to spend their time doing what they want and less restricted by their environment. When I commuted on the metro, I could listen to The Divine Comedy cd, or watch a downloaded episode of CSI instead of listening to someone snoring a few seats over. People check email with their Blackberries, send text messages with their cell phone, or play solitaire in their laptop during meetings, between classes, or even class.

If you think that was a bit shallow, the advance in IT is also touching the lives of the Third World. In my Economics of Developing Countries class, we discussed how cell phones were a Godsend to poor Africans because laying down telephone lines was so cost prohibitive that governments and private companies couldn’t afford to create a land line system that many first world countries enjoy. Poor farmers could bargain with suppliers over their cell phones, do the work of intermediaries, and keep more of the profit for themselves or plants crops that sold better in the far off markets. Political dissidents can use digital camcorders to documents government abuses, publish dissention on website and blogs, or organize meetings through text messages. Using these forms of IT are more accessible, aesthetically rich, and convincing than a simple printed piece of paper.

The enrichment of communication and aesthetic is what many people miss when they talk about IT. IT doesn’t have to be relegated to the mundane aspects associated with PowerPoint, Excel, or online research; it flows out into creating virtual communities like message boards, social networking sites (Myspace.com and Facebook.com), flash mobs, and viral videos (YouTube.com). If people are willing to take risks and willing to us technology in new ways, IT doesn’t have to be so boring and difficult. Instead of a regular presentation, try shooting a good, short film, making interactive website, or creating a magazine about the issue or topic you want to present. At the very least, your audience might appreciate the novelty of watching a boring film over another boring speech or presentation and it's an excuse for you to buy that digicam or expensive software you've been eyeing.

-Bryan

information technology

Reading the posts to townhall there seemed to be an underlying theme of information technology and communication. With the way that society has advanced more and more people are relying on technology as the main source of communication. Just in my own life my main form of communication is my cell phone and instant messanger. Without AIM I would not have kept in touch with any of my friends from high school. I am signed on to AIM twenty-four hours a day everyday. It is such a big part of my life that when I do not have Internet it knocks me off balance. I feel disconnected and isolated from friends. Really all I have to do is to call them and plan a time to hang out, but this never comes to mind.

problem solving vs critical thinking

I have never taken the time to think about the difference in critical thinking and problem solving. They have been so intertwined throughout my experience with New Century that I had a hard time seperating the two of them. Problem solving is a skill that is acquired that helps to find answers whereas critical thinking is more of an analysis of a decision or a situation. Critical thinking invloves decisions whereas problem solving is more of a process.

As was noted in some of the discussion on townhall problem solving in unavoidable. On a day to day basis we come across tons of problems that we must solve. New Century has taken that aspect of life and gone a step farther. We look at these problems that we solve and use critical thinking to analyze our decisions, if it was right, wrong and what we could have done differently. In turn I think that this helps to improve my problem solving skills.

IT and Communication

The biggest connection that I received from the postings on townhall was that IT and communiction go hand in hand. I feel that a lot of people think that IT and communication are so strongly connected is that nowadays most people communicate via email. This sort of interaction has replaced everyday conversation. People no longer feel the need to discuss things in person, but would rather just send an email. I mean, you can ever order a pizza over the interenet! IT is simply dominating the way in which we communicate. I feel that this is a good and bad thing. I like being able to cut off some poepe in my life and striclty talk to the whenever I want over the internet. Yet, I feel like I am sometimes missing out by not seeing that person. I feel that IT has in some ways inhibited some people's way of effectively communicating. By this I mean that some people are no longer comfortable conversating face to face. These people have gotten accustomed to typing what they mean rather than saying it. Again, the biggest competency that I saw relevant to the posting on IT was communication.

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

Wow...where do I start? I believe that it was Bryan that said "Critical thinking is more like a way of looking and analyzing things." Frankly, I couldn't agree any more.

Much like my townhall discussion, I think we do make decisions every day, but not necessarily look at them that way. The other day, I got up and thought about not going to a board meeting...I was beat, dead tired, and the last thing I wanted to do was get up and talk about budget's, certain item's of discussion in the organization's By-Laws, etc. 10 years ago, I would have "Peaced-out" not even thinking about the consequences of my actions. However, I thought about the image of me sleeping in bed while everyone else had kids, careers, and a hell of a lot more on their mind than I did. After carefully thinking about everything with my eyes drooping, and wiping the drool off my face from the night before, I got my butt up and took the shower, and later sped off to the meeting.

As one other quick example (which I think I've used before, but I'll go into details) is reading or viewing something out of the political realm which is your own. I consider myself a moderate(thanks to the past wonderful years post-9/11). While I'd like to consider only listening to or appeasing to an audience of which best represents my political views (example: the Bush Administration), I try to read more liberal and conservative points of view. In my home, I own The Conservative Reader, many publications made by The Heritage Foundation, books by Pat Buchannan, Guiliani, etc. (you get my point). On the other side, I own books by George Stephanopolous, James Carville, Paul Begala, Bill Clinton, etc. (again, you get my point). The key here is to realize I enjoy critically thinking, but I can also use reasoning while finding out what makes these people tick. While reading these books, I can deduct my own opinions and look at each point from a subjective point of view. For example, if I find that a person is using quotes to bash another's progress on 9/11, I simply check out the 9/11 Panel and actually try to further research that point of view, before I make a decision.

Not everyone makes stupid decisions or spends most of their pathetically anal life in books like I do, but I credit my decision-making process to what I've learned in school. I figured I'd analyze a situation outside of school, as I'm sure Prof. Smith and my classmates get bored from hearing the same school stories.

Critical Thinking and Strategic Problem-Solving

I see the difference between critical thinking and strategic problem-solving is in the function and outcome of each. With critical thinking, it’s more open-ended and exploratory. It’s more appropriate for better understanding a subject. Strategic problem-solving has a specific problem and the end point is to make a decision that will solve a problem. They might be similar, but I don’t think they’re interchangeable.

Critical thinking is more like a way of looking and analyzing things. Soledad mentioned in townhall that she isn’t forced to think critically in her daily routine, and that made me think how critical thinking isn’t always used when people don’t analyze issues around them. Not using critical thinking isn’t a bad thing. There are some decisions where people don’t need to think critically about what’s in front of them. I don’t think critically when I’m in the detergent aisle of the grocery store; I just buy Tide because that’s what my family always used and I’m happy with it.

Strategic problem-solving is more like a means to an end. Jennifer W. gave a good example when she talked about her experience with the two boys in her class. They were able to look at the situation, diagnose the problem, and come up with a solution. The competency involves some kind of action in the end, but critical thinking doesn’t necessarily always spur action.

They’re pretty useful when used together. One can use critical thinking when analyzing a problem and possible solutions during the strategic problem-solving process. A good example would be when buying a car. A friend of mine recently bought one and I was able to see her use critical thinking and strategic problem-solving. She used critical thinking to find out what features, brands, and types of cars that were important or more useful for her. She used strategic problem-solving to find dealers that had the car with the features she wanted at a price she could afford. In the end, she was able to find the car for her at a price that fit her budget. If she didn’t use critical thinking, she might have ended up with a car that didn’t meet her needs or met needs that she didn’t have. Strategic problem-solving kept her from settling for a partial match and/or paying more than she wanted.

-Bryan

Critical Thinking begets Strategic Problem Solving

In my writings about both of these competencies, it seems as though I’m talking about the same thing. In other words, I’m glad we’re clarifying exactly what each of these competencies actually entail, seeing as how the lines separating them can get a bit blurry from time to time.

I tend to think that the main difference between critical thinking and strategic problem solving involves a sense of active participation. Critical thinking, for me, is a very good foundation on which a problem solver must be proficient. But in my opinion, the difference comes in the second step of the strategic problem solving: the actual solving of the problem. First comes the critical thinking about the ways to approach the problem, then comes the actual act of solving said problem.


This said, it should come as no surprise to observe that I think these two particular competencies interact quite often, whether it comes with the physical act of solving the problem or not. Some of my earlier portfolio writings seem to say that in my freshman year I felt that critical thinking had to do primarily with the analysis of text, something that was very new to me on such a large scale when I came to college. And while that’s not incorrect by any means, it’s important to now realize and acknowledge that critical thinking and problem solving don’t necessarily just apply to one specific area of a curriculum. In the case of textual analysis, for example, I can’t say that I have agreed with or enjoyed everything I have read over the last few years for school. That said, it’d my responsibly as a critical thinker and a problem solver to not just get riled up about something like that, but to extrapolate why I didn’t agree with it and figure out how I can clearly articulate how I would specifically differ from whatever it was I didn’t like so much. Critical thinking leading to the solving of a problem.

My colleagues also have ideas as to how these two competencies interact. I particularly liked Bryan’s example about his freshman year project about how each individual in his class approached the pollution project. In that example, he could not only approach his critical thinking and problem solving individually, but he could also see how his classmates went about thinking about and solving the same problem as well. Jennifer’s exam example was another case of individual critical thinking complementing the ultimate solving of a problem. Both examples show how both of these competencies can work in different settings and in different contexts.

Differences between Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

From reading over our class blog, I see that there is a difference between critical thinking and strategic problem solving. While the two are different, they really go together hand in hand. To critically think, as Jenn put it, you are thinking in a way to make a judgment. You are thinking about a certain topic or situation and trying to figure out where to go. You are analyzing and laying out all of the information that you have. When you are problem solving, you are simply trying to work through a problem. You already know what the issue is and where you would like to go. This is the critical thinking stage. The two come together because you are critically thinking to problem solve. In any given problem, you are trying to analyze where the issue first began. You have many different sources of information coming at you at the same time and are trying to make a rational solution. After the critical thinking part is done, the problem solving is almost done. The bulk of the hard work has been completed by critical thinking. To finish with the problem solving, you have to put the remedy that you came up with in the critical thinking phase to use. The solution that you came up with now has to be applied to the original problem. By applying critical thinking, you have solved the problem. Hence, critical thinking and problem solving are different; yet the do work together some of the time.