PLJ Meaning Portfolio

In order to better comprehend the sense of “Meaning” in Daniel Pink’s book "A Whole New Mind", I took the liberty of completing the “20- 10 Test” located in the portfolio section of the chapter “Meaning”. According to the book, the sense of meaning is essential to personal fulfillment, happiness, and gratitude; specifically, the twenty ten test examines the level of happiness vested in an individual. The exercise poses a question, would the reader surrender his/ her current occupation for either twenty million dollars or if the reader would only live for another ten years. Ideally, the answer would assume the form of a definite “no”, but if the job of the reader was meaningless, they would presumably respond “yes”. Seeing as my current “job” (attending Arapahoe High School) is undeniably pleasurable and therefore meaningful, I would have to continue my life as a student and respond to this question “no”.
Although twenty million dollars does seem attractive, my current occupation does radiate more happiness, gratification, and meaning than twenty million could ever do. Also, living to be only 25 years would be devastating, so spending the diminutive amount of time I have left would only be experienced at Arapahoe.
The main question this exercise inquires is if a person’s life is meaningful enough to stay the course in relation to their current job. Because my job is obviously productive and happy (therefore meaningful) I would answer “no” to this question.

PLJ Meaning relating to the classroom/ change in learning

Analyzing the graph of time verses content displayed in Daniel Pink’s video "A Whole New Mind", it can be concluded that as Daniel Pink states “We are not happier than our previous generation even with higher standards of living.” Even with the addition of higher living standards in today’s age, our population is still not content. This phenomenon can be accounted to a lack of understanding, or in other terms, meaning. Viktor Frankl states “man’s main concern is not to gain pleasure or to avoid pain but rather to see a meaning in his life.” Pink argues that meaning is essential to happiness and spiritual fulfillment which in turn will initiate a more pleasurable working experience and overall life. Daniel Pink states that “As more companies grasp this idea, we are likely to see a rise in spirit in business- a growing demand from individuals for work- places that offer meaning as well as money. According to one recent U.S. survey, more than three out of five adults believe that a greater sense of spirituality {a producer of meaning} would improve their own workplace.” Likewise, according to Martin Seligman, happiness {another producer of meaning} results in a higher income and more productivity. Taking these two statements into consideration, the chapter “meaning” within Daniel Pink’s book essentially attributes pleasure, productivity, and happiness to meaning; without meaning, life would not be gratifying or productive.
At first glance, debate seemed pointless, a fruitless activity only amounting in nothing. On the first day of this class I could not agree more with the statement above, for the class had no happiness, no spirit. After weeks of prolonged boredom, I finally began to reform my views on the subject; it did after all have a purpose; that purpose was to inform. After realizing this, the class did adopt a “fun” nature.
Before the class had meaning, debate was simply an act that happened. After reaching enlightenment on the purpose of debate, the class became more enjoyable, productive, and gratifying.
Analyzing the holistic image, I can conclude that I am most productive, attentive, and frankly joyful once meaning is located in my actions. Attending debate class was meaningless at first, but once mental reform was encountered, the class altered significantly. Today’s society is dependant upon meaning; if life, jobs, or any other act or thing lacks meaning, it will not be favorable. Presently, meaning is essential to productivity, gratification, and sheer happiness.

PLJ reflect on Sir Ken Robinson video

As Sir Robinson approaches the stage, he introduces his speech with a central theme; creativity being undermined in relation to the current education system. Sir Robinson argues that it's most prudent to adopt a philosophy stressing the importance of creativity in the classroom, he quotes "We are educating people out of their creativity" and "We have a body, why not use it [to dance]?" Robinson also states that a couple years previously, Bachelors degrees were required to be employed in a field, now Master's degrees are necessary for the same profession. He also believes that because children are as Picasso states "born artistic" and because most children will not probably earn a sizeable enough reputation as a scholar to make a "decent" living, the arts are the best alternative. It seems as though Robinson's world is very extremist; either a student attends the Harvard institute, or becomes an artist; presently, there is no middle territory, it’s black and white or pass or fail.
For people like me, Robinson's news is somewhat frightening; it’s plausible that I could morph my ways to reflect those of an artist, but logic is my passion. I can't imagine majoring in any other field except for engineering or mathematics, the reality is that art is not enjoyable for my character. On the contrary, work is inevitable; I must become employed and suffer the far less drastic life associated with right brain occupation than the ones associated with being unemployed.
To be completely honest, I think Sir Robinson exaggerated a little too much. He believes that the world will only consist of extreme left brainers and extreme right brainrers, but if this claim were to come to fruition, the amount of job slots would not cover the demand. If the human population primarily consisted of artists and PHD professors, the world would be deprived of jobs, resulting in a higher percentage of homelessness, poverty, and other related things. The main point here is that Robinson is correct in the sense that creativity will and does need attention, but the world will not develop a strict two sided "job world".

PLJ- play portfolio

To better understand and exercise my sense of "Play" I selected the activity titled "Step on the Humor Scale" in the portfolio section of the chapter "play". The object of the activity is to determine how "funny" (an aspect of play) an individual is; people with lower depression levels and higher senses of purpose tend to score higher averages than their opposite piers.
After completing the series of questions, the computer declared that I was an average person meaning humor is used in my life but not constantly. Elaborating on the test, I scored a 53 out of a possible 64, yet again emphasizing my average interactions with humor.
To be completely honest, my score does reflect my character with pinpoint accuracy; I'm generally welcoming in response to humor, but I am not necessarily proficient in generating it, hence my “average” score. Also reiterating my “average” performance is the balance between my levels of depression and purpose (depression being low and purpose too, thus creating an average between two extremes). Daniel Pink's book "A Whole New Mind" specifically states that instances exist where humor and play should be utilized, but on the contrary, times also call for somberness. Considering this, it's most prudent to fall in between both extremes; life can’t always be humorous (thus defeating the purpose of a burial), but laughter and play do benefit the body and should be utilized in some circumstances.

PLJ - Play- relating to the classroom/ change in learning

As the conceptual age emerges and claims dominance over the previous informational age, inhabitants of this world must also experience alteration as well. Presently, information is necessary, but not a sole definition of success; today play assuming the forms of games, humor, and joyfulness are key to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and pleasurable life. The conceptual age is founded upon the balance between the two hemispheres of the brain; to maintain this balance; one must seek the structure within the left brain, but also complement that with understanding of aptitudes associated with the right brain such as play.
As play is a predominantly right brained activity, it's most prudent that I select the class that best reflects right brain activity. This class is without a doubt my swimming course. Unlike the heavily emphasized left brained courses such as math and science, swimming is an art. Swimming represents play in all three aspects; swimming can be considered a game, swimming sometimes poses a great deal of abundance in the form of humor, and swimming provokes joyfulness.
Elaborating on the first point, swimming can be considered a game because it is a form of free expression. Upon entering the water, an athlete is capable of essentially everything. One of these must be gaming. For example, my swimming is currently perfecting the art of "water polo", a game resembling a soccer match. The object of the game is to successfully toss a ball into the opposing team's net; that is if the ball was still safely in possession of the offense. With this example, it may be concluded that swimming can indeed assume the form of a game.
Practically anything abstract can at one point or another become humorous; swimming is one of them. Again, I will present an example supporting the claim that swimming is humorous. For example, the previous Monday, our class was given the opportunity to utilize the diving board to perform acrobatic maneuvers whence in the air. The student in front of me jumped off the diving board only to have his chest smack into the water, producing the loudest noise ever! He ultimately turned out alright, but for a moment his actions were encountered with a hearty laugh from the bystander population.
Swimming is also considered joyful because of the presence of my friends and the games we play and the humor we encounter together. The company of friends has always provoked my sense of joy.
Last semester, my Spanish class was placed at the bottom of my schedule; presently, alteration has not occurred, so Spanish is still my last period class. My swimming class always arrives one period earlier when compared to Spanish. Last semester, I did not enroll in the swimming class I am currently attending and my grades achieved in Spanish were only secondary to what they are now. In other words, because of my swimming class, my Spanish grades have benefited; this is due to the natural sense of play vested within the swimming class. Play basically relaxes my mind and eliminates my phobias of Spanish because of its funny, joyful, and game oriented natures. As a result of play in my swimming class, my grades have improved in comparison to the previous semester.
Analyzing the holistic image, I would have considered myself to be only proficient in the field of Spanish, but once play was introduced to my swimming class, Spanish became significantly more comprehendible because of the relaxation play imposed upon me.

PLJ- Empathy Portfolio

After completing the chapter "Empathy" in Daniel Pink's book, A Whole New Mind, I focused my attention on the portfolio section of the installment. The first activity grasped my attention, so I took the liberty of completing it. It was titled "Test yourself" and was essentially a collection of online tests assembled to assist in my understanding of my own brain and empathetic characteristics. Ultimately, I arrived at a consensus; I would test myself in the "detect the fake smile" department of the exercise. The website belongs to the very renowned BBC and is composed of twenty questions each focusing on being able to identify false smiles.
After successfully completing the activity, the results demonstrated that I had reached a proficient level in deciphering between genuine and fake facial expressions. Apparently, I received a score of seventeen correct out of the initial twenty, a staggering statistic for someone such as myself. Oddly enough, I described my now deceiving sense of empathy in the previous post and explained that the book allegedly classified me as a non- empathetic person. With the addition of this successful test to my present accumulation, I might value this test over the previous book- issued one. After receiving a respectable score on the facial expression exam, I actually may demolish my previous conclusion about how I am not empathetic at all and adopt a new more neutral one.
As stated on numerous occasions, the world has evolved to the extent where the logical and analytical perspective commonly associated with the previous century is not sufficient. Activities such as detecting genuine or fake smiles are great in the sense that they enable one to comprehend the whole image. It's not facts which will separate the successful from inferiors; empathy is a vital part of understanding. Reaching enlightenment is only a product of experiencing something from another's view, so to truly comprehend other piers, it would be beneficial to become empathetic.

PLJ- Empathy Relate to class/ change in learning

According to Daniel Pink's description of his fourth sense "Empathy", empathetic individuals are successfully able to visualize the problems or triumphs encountered by other people. Feeling "with" someone is defiantly not one sense I would consider myself proficient in. The chapter is introduced with a story describing the turmoil confronted by Daniel Pink; the objective was to generate yawning on the reader’s behalf by vividly describing the process continuously. Apparently, the book thinks I don't encompass a "natural sense of Empathy" because throughout the whole description, my mouth remained dormant. I guess another conclusion resembling my last in "symphony" can be made; empathy, like symphony is too abstract for me to comprehend fully. Some days, I am perfectly capable of visualizing how a person feels internally, but on most occasions, this goal is not met. The world is comprised of a majority of left- brained thinkers; this is precisely why aptitudes similar to empathy are in such great demand and can't be outsourced or automated. Even though I would not consider myself empathetic to a substantial degree, some instances which involve the utilization of empathetic qualities do assist me in achieving understanding. For example, my history class is currently exploring the Japanese WWII era horror practices; today, a video presentation, compiled by my teacher (Mrs. Crosby) interviewed surviving victims of Japanese cruelty. After the Manchurian province of China was overwhelmed by Japanese forces in 1937, the Chinese civilian population became subject to inhumane, cruel processes; the remaining people who initially received such treatment were invited to recollect their experiences on camera. I distinctly remember one woman recounting her ordeal; the story itself was frightening and provoked my sense of empathy. I could actually visualize what was happening to the woman through her own eyes; other accounts of soldiers' experiences in Operation Overlord also generated similar feelings, thus again provoking my “uncooperative” sense of empathy. Before I witnessed the film and read other accounts of soldiers, WWII and other emotionally inclined subjects were simply a regurgitation of facts with no poignant value whatsoever. 10,000 Americans perished on D- Day; it was simply a fact, the emotional value arrived at the encounter of descriptions recalling a man exploding, a man crying, a man helplessly dying on the unforgiving beach, and other related material. Empathy has truly aided in my quest to understand material in depth, not simply facts, but also emotion.
Overall, empathetic approaches on information have had lasting impressions in my memory. I comprehend the material a lot more in depth with the addition of empathy into the spectrum. The modern world is not solely structured upon information; today conception has claimed dominance and what better way to support this new change than to empathize?