Project 366: Dancing for a Guest when there Wasn’t Much other than Lunch Time Shenanigans, a Job Interview, and a Hat.

On Monday, there was dancing. 

Because she lost a bet. So she performed some highland dance for us in Biology class. It was pretty fantastic.

 

On Tuesday, there was a guest. 

His name is Gwynne Dyer. He talked to us about Arab Spring and then extended his talk to non-violent revolutions in general.

 

On Wednesday, there wasn’t much. 

So this is a fun photo of our Biology powerpoint presentation. The caption in the top right hand corner says, “Don’t forget to put a shirt on when cooking (no one cares about your six pack)”.

On Thursday, there was lunch time shenanigans. 

Here is Andrew getting slapped by Lisa. And Cynthia wearing a mustache. Would you believe me if I told you both of these things were for cancer awareness?

 

On Friday, there was a job interview.

Cross my fingers, I think I did well. All I need now is my criminal record check and references. I’m cautiously optimistic.

 

On Saturday, there was a hat. 

A magnificent hat. HOLD YOUR CAULFIELDS, EVERYONE, I’VE FINALLY FOUND IT. It’s the hunting cap that I’ve been hunting since September. The infamous, the symbolic, the red, it’s Holden Caulfield’s hat from Catcher in the Rye.

Some reflection on the week. 

It’s been painful trying to get back into the Project 366. It really isn’t that difficult to take a photo a day and upload it, but in my mind it became this monumental task that was insurmountable. I really had to force myself this week to take a photo a day. I literally put it on my To-Do List every single day so I wouldn’t forget it. I would like to think that this shows some perseverance, but I don’t think I can really say that until I’ve started to do this on the regular again. This is why I’m going to continue the Project into the new year, until I’ve reached the 366 photo mark. I know it’s cheating, but my focus is now on finishing, not on following the rules.

 

Theory of Knowledge: “Just Believe It”

“Just believe it,” said a boy – let’s call him Misguided, just kidding, let’s call him Mickey – in my math class.

Just believe it.

The reason Mickey said this was to stop his friend who was dragging out a lesson because he did not understand why the question was solved that way. I will be the first to admit that I am glad he did interrupt. The lesson was boring and the questions his friend was asking was more based on a poorly built foundation in math rather than actual curiosity as to how the question works.

Regardless of this, there is something I find disturbing about those 3 words. This is not the only instance I’ve ever heard it, nor will it be the last.

Don’t question what you’re told, just follow along blindly.

Ignorance is strength, right?

For all of the progress we’ve made, blind belief is no longer good enough. The Earth would be flat, the sun would be pulled by Helios, and mental illness could be cured through exorcism.

We are in a world where the “Big Brother and the Party” type government is on the brink of extinction. Simply look at the Arab Spring revolutions. Even Communist China – although not even close to becoming a democratic society – has realized that certain freedoms must be allowed. They have now become an economic giant. There are still great issues with freedom of information in China, so it isn’t altogether the greatest example.

However, the Arab Spring revolutions were in fact sprung (sorry.) by the rapid spread of information resulting from development of social media. It was a demonstration of the difficulties of internet censorship; protests were still organized and news still shared through platforms like Twitter and Facebook.

The internet is now the key player in sharing of information and the “gain of knowledge”.

“Just believe it” – just doesn’t work anymore.

It’s simply too difficult to control the spread of information anymore.