1. "Connected: An Autobiography About Love, Death, & Technology" By Tiffany Shlain
After viewing the film, what particularly struck you as powerful or important?
The Right Brain and the Female Gender:
In the beginning of the film, Shlain discusses the left versus the right brain. This discussion of the sides of the brain being stronger in males and females was something I studied in college, but also thought that it was only partly true. The difference between one male and another male can be just as different as a male and a female, for example. But maybe less so in brain processes.
She talked about her father's work in recognizing the role of language in our currently male-dominated society. Before language and in its beginnings, Goddesses were the ones held up and worshiped over Gods. Language made our world very analytic, favoring the left side of the brain, leading to domination by males. Problems were broken down into parts in order to solve, which eventually lead to the foundations of "science." This "divide & specialize" technique became the focus of our world that drove progress, making everything more efficient and giving humans free time. Yet, the costs that were reviewed were only financial and everything else in the world humans used to be connected with every day in order to live was and is ignored.
With the creation of the internet, words and pictures have been brought together in a way that is constant. We rarely see words without any pictures or graphics and videos and pictures almost always have words. This combination of the right and left brain is beginning to change society again. I wonder if the rise in women empowerment, women focusing on careers just as much as men, seeking roles in government and male-dominated fields is a part of this change. Women make up the majority of students in colleges and outperform males in education. Has the internet, and technology (and thus the empowerment and increased importance of the right brain) actually began to influence gender in society? This was a very striking thought I had during the film and can't wait to see what we see change over time in society with female "roles" changing and further knowledge and studies of brain chemistry.
Another aspect I found interesting was how emotions are what causes us to do the things we do. Some people think it is the knowledge we have that we will die some day but Shlain's mother believed that emotions drove us. I think I agree more with her mother as death (maybe just because I am on the younger side) seems so abstract and somewhat painful to have in our consciousness, so I think it is probably buried deeper down and emotions, which are deep and shallow, drive our everyday and long-term motivations.
Dopamine was also discussed. This is a pleasure hormone and is never satisfied. It leaves us always wanting more, which is a huge foundation of our consumer-driven, overindulgent society. This connects directly to education and my classroom as well. We have created this world in which we have all of this free time but usually spend it all on things that will increase our dopamine levels and decrease stress. In education, we need to find ways to involve fun in learning so students' dopamine is activated and increased, but also teach children what is important and really teach them how to live in moderation. This will help us lead to a sustainable world. The film was interesting overall, and I appreciate the reminder of how the world is connected, which is a benefit, but should also be constant reminder that what we do effects everyone else in the world.
Also! Tiffany Shlain was the speaker at my graduation from UC Berkeley in 2010! Woo Hoo!!!
Responded to:
Emily Esguerra
Karen May
Hi Sara,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your blog and all the added pictures! You mentioned that Shlain’s mother believed that emotions drive us. I believe that too. People naturally gravitate toward activities that make them content and/or happy, and they avoid things that make them scared and/or sad. I think that acting with ones’ emotions is a natural way to protect oneself.
Sometimes people have to act against their emotions and that is uncomfortable for them. This concept can be applied to the classroom. When students are faced with a difficult academic task (difficult math homework for example), they react differently to the anxiety. Some avoid it; some plow through the task with assistance when needed; some refuse to do it kicking and screaming; and some work extra hard and put in extra time and eventually master the task.
People who can conquer their emotions have a sense of accomplishment and that activates happiness. Gravitating toward activities that make one happy is natural, but we need to teach our students how to deal with challenges that play on our emotions. This is harder for some than for others. Helping children learn how to remove themselves at times from their emotions and react with their rational brain helps children mature and feel a sense of accomplishment. I guess I feel that we do naturally act on emotion but there are times when we pull away from emotion to complete a task that will make us a better, smarter, more knowledgeable person. Learning to juggle emotions is maturity.
Kelly Bull