Monday, January 28, 2008

PLJ relating to class/ change in learning- Symphony

Within the confines of Daniel Pink's book, "A Whole New Mind", a chapter conveying a message hard for "specific" people like me to comprehend exists. The message is reform, reform in the form of adopting the aptitude of symphony. Essentially, symphony is defined as recognizing patterns, relating, and piecing together seemingly unrelated material. For logically inclined people like myself, synthesis is something I simply can't grasp, the analytical perspective is a great deal simpler for me to comprehend. I can't abide by these rules, I can't visualize the holistic image, it's too abstract. I guess this is precisely the reason symphonic ability has reached such a demand, it's all due to it's rare nature; it can't be automated or outsourced and it's defiantly not abundant! For these reasons, Daniel Pink references symphony as a vital aspect of life in a whole new world.
Pondering the question of symphony and where it can be found; math would be a reasonable place to begin. As an example, my Algebra 2 honors class is in the midst of exploring "factoring" and "operating with complex fractions". The reason this demonstrates symphony is because the deceivingly unrelated topics actually are combined in some instances to solve a whole equation/ problem. For example, a couple days previously, our class was assigned a hearty list of math problems to solve using the two techniques above. The equations generally constituted a certain resemblance towards each other, so the model would go like this: The numerator has a polynomial (most commonly a trinomial) and the denominator is occupied by another; this fraction is then added, subtracted, divided, or multiplied by the precursor. The objective is to factor the numerators and denominators and then operate on the product resulting in a simplified answer equivalent to the initial expression. The process I have just described involves the usage of the two seemingly isolated concepts combined together in a holistic way to reach a common goal.
Before I was introduced to symphonic concepts like the one described above, I was a strict left brain thinker in response to math questions. I had always perceived math to be a two dimensional field, you complete the problem this way or that, no exceptions. Now, I realize that math is undoubtedly a complex right brained activity as well; a problem is not solved strictly by logic and memorization, the success or failure to answer correctly is a product of right brained thinking. The problem must be analysed, but also synthesized; a student needs to determine which procedure to use when solving equations, a right brained activity. Every problem differs, so each should be confronted differently (thus requiring right brained capabilities). Also, as discussed above, math can also require the solver to think abstractly, especially when combining two techniques to produce a whole new one. Symphony plays a very important role in every subject, even traditionally logical and linear subjects such as math and science still rely on support from the right brained symphony. Because of symphony and holistic approaches on problems, I am capable of much more, not just adding and subtracting!

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