Month: September 2022

Quote: “Most problems, of course, are not new, so we rely on what Gentner calls “surface” analogies from our own experiences. “most of the time, if you’re reminded of things that are similar on the surface, they’re going to be relationally similar as well.”( pg.104)

Comment: I never really realized that our brain always does this. we will see or hear something that will remind us of an event or action that had happened. this can be great when it comes to school and learning. I don’t realize that our brains can remember a lot. in the book there was an example of a clogged drain but I also relate this is math. Your teacher will show you something from on unit that may transfer to another and you may understand by association.

Question: why do our brains associate similar things together? Is this due to humans adapting or changing over time?

Quote: “Some people argue that part of the reason U.S. students don’t do as well on international measures of high school knowledge is that they’re doing too well in class”, Nate Kornell, a cognitive psychologist at Williams college, told me “what you want is to make it easy to make it hard” (pg.85).

Comment: This quote struck me because of the concept that’s hidden behind it. Learning in any case in school or out is about the hurdle you’ll need to overcome to succeed. I know in school we feel like the work isn’t going to be useful in the long run, but it’s about certain concepts and bits of material you learn that really guide you into what you like in the long run.

Question: Do you think that school is how we differentiate what we like in the future?

Reflections: I had gone to the involvement fair with some new friends I had made that week. I was genuinely surprised by the number of clubs UNE has. I had signed up for everything that had caught my interest. I’m from a beach town yet I don’t know how to surf, so I signed up for the surfing club. They’ll take people out on the water and teach them and I thought that this would be great; given the fact I’m from York Maine. There was also The Bee Conservation Club that I signed up for. the thing that really hooked me to this club is that we get to collet out own honey and jar it. The president of the club also had said that they were also going to try and make chapstick, and even food wax raps. Overall I was happy that I went; it was a great way to meet some new people.